This is Their Story
by DeathEmBracer
Summary: This takes place right after ME1, but right before the beginning of ME2. The story will go into ME3 and maybe beyond. Shepard just saved the Citadel, and just wants to relax. But doesn't get the chance. Now thrown into a new fight connected to the Reapers, she has to figure out what all has changed in her life. Full Summary inside.
1. Chapter 1

_**This is Their Story- Chapter 1**_

**Rating: M**

**Pairing: (F) Shepard/Liara T'Soni**

**Summary:** Commander Samantha Jean Shepard has just defeated Seran, and wants nothing more then to rest for a while, preferably with her Asari; Dr. Liara T'Soni. But the visions from the beacons still haunt her dreams with death and destruction, and she knows the fight isn't over; it had just been delayed. But before she has a chance to start preparing, she is killed. Liara T'Soni, after handing over her lovers body to Cerberus, becomes an information broker; splitting her time between her work and her personal life. Her only hope at this point, is that Shepard wasn't lying when she said she would love her for the rest of her life.

**A/N:** So, I've decided, that I was going to branch out a bit, see how well I could write a story for one of my favorite games. Now I just have to gain the courage to post this and the other two video game fic's I have... Or is it three? *Ponders* Oh well...

Oh, just so you know, I'm more or less skipping the first game, This starts literally right after the fight with Seran; and continues into the second game. I will explain certain things that happened in the first game's timeline as I go, mostly to give the few OC characters I have a background history.

Also, last thing, I promise (If anyone is even reading this) I'm still looking up a lot of info about things in the games, even though I've played all three games at least four times. Please, don't be afraid to tell me if I messed something us or if something is just completely out in left field. Thanks! ^^

I don't own _anything_ related to Mass Effect. Pointless to sue, don't got money.

* * *

Shepard walked slowly through the ruble, up a slanted piece of wall and stood tall. Or well, as tall as she could with her ribs hurting like they did. She looked down at her friends, smiling gently at Liara as the Asari walked towards her. Ashley was wrapped protectively around Tali, glaring at the Quarian softly while muttering something.

"Shepard." Liara said softly, wrapping her arm around the Commanders waist when she got to her.

"Hello." The Spectre said back, placing her arm around Liara's neck and pulling her into a hug. She nuzzled the side of the scientists face, purring gently, "I love you, Lia."

"As I love you." Liara whispered, pulling back so she could give her lover a proper kiss, "Now, Dr. Chakwas is waiting. Let's see if you actually broke those ribs of yours."

Shepard nodded, allowing her lover to help her down the pile of rubble and through the majority demolished Citadel to the docking bay that housed the Normandy. Dr. Chakwas confirmed that she had fractured two of her ribs, but as long as she rested for the next few days, Medi-gel would fix it. After she was warned properly, Shepard left the Med-bay; letting Chakwas focus on patching up Liara and Tali. She headed straight for her room, reclining on her bed with a data-pad, intent on writing Liara another letter. She had been doing so since a little after the Asari had gotten on her ship, and had loved to bring it up to the scientist, since she would show off the cute blush she got when she was shy. It was only twenty minutes later, when she found herself falling asleep.

When Liara was finally free to go, told to be careful of her right arm and to favor the right leg for a while, she headed to the Commanders room, opening the door to see Shepard asleep with a data-pad resting on her chest. The Asari couldn't stop the chuckle as she walked over and placed the mini computer on her humans night stand before laying down next to her.

"Mm, Liara?" Shepard murmured, rolling over and nuzzling closer to the Asari.

"Yes?" Liara asked gently, holding on tighter.

"No lookie." The savior of the citadel responded, "Not finished with the letter."

Liara giggled, "Ok love, I won't look."

Shepard murmured something else before falling back asleep. Liara was close behind her, with both of them wrapped protectively around each other.

~o0o~

"Ashley, I'm fine." Tali said softly, sitting on a bed in the med-bay, watching her girlfriend pace back and forth.

Ashley didn't respond, just kept up her relentless pacing. There was a scowl plastered on her face, and after a minute, she stopped and looked at Dr. Chakwas.

"Are you done Doctor?" She asked, hiding her annoyance with everything that was going on. She had not been happy when the Commander had chosen Tali for the Ilos mission, but had not argued; knowing she could get in serious trouble for it.

"Almost. Oh, and the Commander OK'd it." Chakwas said, remembering Shepard asking her to pass the message on.

"Thank you." Ashley said, relaxing slightly at the news.

"Ok'd what?" Tali asked, watching the Doc patch up the last small tear in her suit.

"We're not staying on the ship tonight." Ashley answered.

Tali nodded, forgoing trying to argue. She knew that Ash would win, the gunnery chief always won their little arguments. Not that she complained any, she loved seeing her girlfriend angry. When she was done, she allowed Ashley to help her out of the med-bay, then out of the ship and towards the Commanders apartment. They rode the elevator and typed in the access code. They walked in and found Audri sitting in a chair reading a book.

Audri was a rather tall African with a tan that was noticeable. Her long light brown hair was pulled back into a pony-tail, and as she glanced up, the two could see the slight red tint of her cyberetic implants through her eyes; almost making them look purple with the blue that was her real eye color. She smiled at them, making the scar that ran through her left eyebrow show more,

"Hello ladies." She said, her voice having a Russian lit to it, "I'm glad you came over today, I need you to sign the papers." She added, activating her omi-tool. She transferred the data to Ashley, before going back to her book.

Ashley sat on the couch next to her girlfriend, who was fidgeting with curiosity. The soldier smiled at the Quarian gently as she pulled up the document on her omi-tool, reading over the document slowly to make sure everything was right before signing her name and smiling as she sent it to C-sec and the apartment manager. She turned back to Tali,

"Would you like to go for a walk, before seeing your surprise?" She asked,

Tali tilted her head, "And what might my surprise be, My Human?"

Ash chuckled, never minding that Tali called her 'My Human'. For them it was always a term of endearment; though it had taken them a while to understand that. Now it was something they used both for fun, and for the hell of it; mostly for fun though.

"Ah. I'm not telling, you'll just have to wait and see." Ashley said softly, grabbing Tali's hand and gently pulling her back out the door. Right before the door closed, Ashley thanked Audri for her help, who nodded her head with a small secretive smile.

The two of them walked slowly around the presidium, staying close to the apartments just to be on the safe side of things. Ashley didn't want her lover getting an infection if her suit teared open again, not before she could show her what the human had been planning the past few weeks; with their Commanders help. After a few hours, there was a beep on Ash's Omi-Tool, and she looked at it to see a small note.

_'The place's ready. I even left a few boosters for Tali. Have fun._

_-Audri'_

Ashley laughed before standing from the bench they were sitting on and steering Tali towards the apartments again, but this time going up to a different floor then Shepard's. She stepped in front of a door marked with numbers and opened it with the pass code she had asked Audri to set up. The door opened and she stepped through, turning to watch Tali as the Quarian entered.

Tali looked around in awe, wondering in the back of her mind why they were there. She turned back to Ashley, who then gently reach out to her, resting her hand on the side of her helmet.

"This is our place... If, you want that..." The Human said softly, a nervous tone showing through. The soldier never usually let her fears be known, but after the two had gotten together, Tali had broken down those walls; making sure the Gunnery chief knew she could trust the Quarian with her heart.

Tali leaned into the touch, "Our place?" She asked, a hope building in her chest.

Ashley nodded, "Only if you want."

Tali laughed gently, "You should know better, My Human. I want."

Ashley smiled, laughing softly at herself, "You're right. I'm being dumb." She turned and walked into the living room. The space was large, with two chairs and a couch facing the window, that doubled as the TV. She stopped at the coffee table and grabbed one of the three small containers filled with liquid. She turned back to Tali and held it out.

"I've been taking boosters for the past month, I've also had Audri get this place ready by sterilizing it as much as she could. If you want... You can take one of these and be able to walk around outside of your suit for a few hours." Ashley explained, letting her voice hint at the hope she felt.

Tali could swear that her breathing got faster. She could hear the hope, and it mirrored what she was feeling. Throughout the seven months that they'd been dating, this was never brought up. Ashley had told her in the beginning that she would just be happy with having Tali as her own. They would bring it up in passing, wondering what it would be like, but they had never planned anything. Tali had been debating with herself for about a week on whether she wanted to bring it up or not. But now, the choice had been taken from her, and she wasn't sure if she was ready.

She looked back up at Ashley, realizing that she had tilted her head down while thinking. The look the Human gave her was enough to shock her back to reality. The hope in Ashley's eyes had dimmed a bit, and the hand holding the container was now at her side.

"I-I... I guess... We c-could wait..." Ashely muttered, closing her eyes to hide the tears that wanted to fall.

The words were like a punch to Tali's stomach and she moved forward, finally noticing that her silence had hurt her lover.

"No, Ash." She said softly, reaching out to grab the vile, "I want this too... But I don't know what you will think of me... when you finally get to see what I actually look like."

Ashley looked up, a soft laugh leaving her as a few tears trailed down her cheeks, "I'll tell you what I will see, Tali'Zorah. I will see the woman I love for the first time, and I will love her more."

Tali nodded slowly as she injected the booster into her system. She gave it a few minutes to go through her body before reaching up. Ashley's hands stopped her, taking their place and slowly unlatching the Quarian's helmet. It fell to the floor a moment later as the Human smiled widely at her lover.

~o0o~

Audri looked up at the window above her, smiling. She was standing on the small balcony, watching the shadows play across the closed window curtain. She was happy for them, her friends. She gave a chuckle at the thought; she had friends now. She was so use to only having Shepard as a friend, since no one trusted a person with Cyberetic implants. Something she had had for a long time now. She gave another chuckle as she left the balcony, grabbed her leather jacket, and walked out the apartment.

She wouldn't be alive today, if it hadn't been for the Commander. Thanks to the car accident when she was sixteen, that left her in a coma for almost a year. The Commander had always had a knack for anything she put her mind to. She had been working on that little cyberetic project for years, trying to figure out a way to help others with it. When she had gotten a call about Audri being in a coma, she had worked herself to near death to get it usable. Audri was told by the Doctor that if it hadn't been for those implants, she would have very well been in that coma for the rest of her life, while her body tried in vain to heal the wounds she had gotten even with the help of medi-gel.

"What has a lovely lady like you so upset?" A voice asked, making Audri snap out of her thoughts. She turned to face the asari that spoke, smiling brightly at seeing her girlfriend standing in front of her,

"Nothing Sweetie, just thinking about my accident." She stated, grabbing Sha'ira's hand and pulling her closer; giving her palm a gentle kiss.

Sha'ira chuckled, "Remind me to thank the Commander. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have met you."

Audri nodded, her smile brightening even more with her happiness, "Ready for our date, love?"

Sha'ira nodded, linking her arm with Audri's and guiding her down the street; to the restaurant that she had made reservations with before Saren had attacked. As they walked, felt herself being pulled into her own memories.

She had seen the woman next to her several times throughout the few years that Audri had lived on the Citadel. But it had always been at a distance. Sha'ira hadn't been willing to try to talk to the beautiful lady that always sat on a bench in the park, staring up at the sky; lost in thought. She had been dealing with her old Turian friend, and was afraid of something like that happening again with the human.

But that had changed after News spread that there was a Human Spectre, and that Saren was discharged. The Human Spectre had passed by her Chambers one day, laughing with a Quarian and an Asari over something that had happened on the ship; from what she could hear. An hour later, she passed by again, this time coming to a stop, with the woman Sha'ira had been watching wrapped around her arm. A Jealous rage had nearly made her collapse, followed by a wave of sadness. The woman she was starting to have feelings for, was taken.

She had thought wrong though, and all of her anger and sadness dissipated when the woman looked up and caught her eyes, smiling happily as she started to wave at her while tugging on the Spectre's arm.

_"Sammi. That's her!"_ She had said, dragging the woman over to where she was standing.

_"Ah, the mystery woman of your dreams."_ She had said, smiling, _"Hello, My name's Shepard. This is Audriana."_

"Love?"

Sha'ira snapped back to the present, "Yes?"

"Now who's lost in thought?" Audri said, a playful smirk tugging at her lips.

Sha'ira laughed, "I'm just remembering the day Shepard helped me... Both with getting you and taking care of my old friend."

Audri nodded, a happy little smile stretched across her face at the memory of their first date. She looked at her Asari goddess and made her stop. She reached out and wrapped her hand around the back of her girlfriends neck pulling her into a deep, heartfelt kiss, "I love you." She murmured, when she finally pulled back.

Sha'ira smiled, "As I love you."

* * *

**A/N:** So, I think this will be the preview/introduction to my story. I have a lot more then this typed out, but I'm going through and editing it all bit by bit. I thought this would be a good starting point though.

Hope you Enjoyed! ^^


	2. Chapter 2

_**This is Their Story- Chapter 2**_

**Rating: M**

**Pairing: (F) Shepard/Liara T'Soni**

**A/N:** So... Yeah. This Chapter is part past, and part future. You should be able to tell... Hopefully.

I don't own _anything_ related to Mass Effect. Pointless to sue, don't got money.

* * *

_She was struggling to breathe, failing her arms around wildly, though it was pointless; there was noting to grab a hold of in space. She turned to look at the escape pods, finding the one Liara was in through their connection. She smiled sadly as she watched it race to the planets surface,_

_"I love you Liara." She said with her dying breath._

"Shepard!" Liara's voice broke through her subconscious, making her jolt up with a gasp.

The things that had been floating around the room, encased in the blue field of her biotics fell, a few things breaking where they landed. Shepard looked around, before turning to Liara, sweat dripping down her face.

"Love?" She murmured, reaching her hand out.

Liara leaned into the touch, nuzzling her cheek against Shepard's palm gently, "Are you alright, Jean?"

Shepard shook her head, moving to sit against the wall behind her, "I had another nightmare."

"Prothean?"

"No, about my death." The Commander whispered, looking down at her hands.

It had been nearly two months since they had beaten Saren, and Shepard had chosen Anderson to become the Human Councilor. Everyone was fighting for the Commanders attention, but luckily for them, the Council was sending them out to look for three ships that had disappeared recently. This actually caused a sense of fear to travel through the Asari scientist. Shepard had been like this once before, the night before they landed on Ilos. After their meld, they had fallen asleep, that was broken a little while later with the Commander waking up in a cold sweat.

She had shrugged it off, curling up with Liara again. But the next morning, she had insisted that Liara and Tali be the ones to go with her. When they had had a moment to themselves, before they left, Shepard had told her in hushed whispers that she had a gut feeling that told her anyone else would die if they went with her instead. She even said she had the same feeling when they had been on Virmire, but that she had foolishly ignored them, resulting in Lt. Alenko's death. Something the Commander still regretted. She had vowed to herself that she would never ignore her 'feelings' after that had happened.

Liara came back to when she felt a hand stroking over the crests on her head. The touch was gentle, almost fleeting in feeling, and she looked up to Shepard with tears in her eyes,

"Please..." She murmured brokenly, "Don't talk about-"

"Shh, baby." Shepard murmured, pulling her close and kissing her gently, "I know it scares you, just as it does me. But let's forget it, for now." She added, moving to trail kisses down her Asari's neck, murmuring her love for the Prothean expert. She moved back up, this time trailing her tongue up a random path, stopping just under where her crest starts on her left side. Shepard nipped at the sensitive skin gently, lapping at it afterwords for a second.

With a gentle smile she murmured softly, "Embrace..."

Liara smiled, love filling her being as she finished the phrase, "Eternity..."

Her eyes turned black, and she could feel Shepard entering her mind through the meld. They made love slowly, tenderly as they expressed their love for each other.

Little did they know, that it would be the last time for a while.

~o0o~

_"Shepard!" Liara yelled, running around screaming people and over to her lover, "The ship's..."_

_"I know. I need you to get everyone out of here!" Shepard stated, She had her helmet in her hand and she was about to put it on. At the last minute she stopped, turned to her Asari and pulled her into a deep kiss._

_"Jean..." Liara whimpered,_

_"Please, Liara, do as I ask." Shepard asked, placing her helmet on and locking it into place. She turned back to the wall of fire, trying in vain to get it blown out. She heard Liara start moving, before stopping again._

_"Joker won't leave." The Asari stated, placing her helmet on and running. Trying desperately to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach._

_Shepard watched, before sighing softly and heading for the cockpit. It only took her a few minutes to get Joker to leave, and only a second or two to get him into the escape pod. The next blast hit before she could get in, and with a sad sigh, she pushed the button for ejection before she was tossed into space._

Shepard opened her eyes slowly, groaning as she tried to lift her hand. A face blurred into her vision for a second.

"Try to stay still." The voice told her, before looking over to a man, "Dammit Wilson! Give her the sedative. She's not ready."

"I'm trying. It's not working!" Wilson yelled,

"Then give her another!" The woman looked down again, "Shepard, you have to relax. Please."

"L-" Shepard coughed, turning her head to look around her, "Liara..." She murmured softly, closing her eyes and falling back asleep.

_"I'm sorry, Liara." Councilor Anderson said, resting his hand on the Asari's shoulder, "I know what she meant to you."_

_"She meant more then you'll ever comprehend." Liara said softly, standing up from the couch she was resting against and walking over to the window, "I felt it. The moment she left, I felt as my heart was ripped from my chest and stabbed repeatedly. You know nothing!" She nearly yelled at him, tears streaming down her face._

_Her biotics flared briefly, and she had to take a deep breath to calm herself down. She placed her hands on her stomach, looking down at the floor. Anderson looked away in shame; he knew of the bond an Asari shared with their mates; it was stronger then anything in the known galaxy._

_With a sad sigh, Anderson placed a Data-pad down on the coffee table in front of the couch, "Shepard asked me to give you this. If anything happened. I am truly sorry."_

_"I know, Councilor, and I'm sorry for my out burst." Liara responded, looking out the window._

_She listened as the door clicked shut and sighed. She looked around the room, Shepard's apartment; their would be home... If the Commander was still alive. With a sigh, she flopped onto the couch again, staring blankly at the wall across from her. That's all she had been doing, for the past two weeks, just staring; wondering what her life would have been like, what their life would have been like. It was the only thing she could do to keep from breaking down, but it wasn't working anymore._

_The door opened, and in walked Audri and Sha'ira. They were surprised to see Liara out of Shepard's room. They looked around, noting that the window had a slight crack in it._

_"Liara?" Audri asked, her Russian accent dimmed in how soft she spoke._

_"The Human Councilor came by, to drop something off." Liara said, pointing to the Data-Pad; there was no emotion in her voice. The tone of her voice made the other two cringe, never hearing it from the shy and soft spoken Scientist._

_"What does it say?" Audri asked, glancing at it briefly._

_"I haven't read it yet." Liara muttered._

_The door opened again, and in walked Ashley and Tali, who had come all the way from the Migrant Fleet to be on the Citadel for Shepard's Funeral. Tali came over and sat down, noticing the Data-Pad._

_"Liara?"_

_"No." The Asari replied,_

_"Please? For me?" Tali asked next, resting her hand on Liara's arm gently._

_Liara growled softly to herself, nodding, "Only for you." She muttered to the Quarian, picking up the stupid thing. She pressed the power button, watching as a question appeared,_

"Am I dead?"_ It read,_

_Liara held her breath as she typed the answer, _"Yes."_ A second after it was typed, words started to appear on the screen._

_**"Liara T'Soni,**_

_**This letter is only to be sent to you if I'm dead. Once I finish it, I'm sending it to Captain Anderson.**_

_**I want to tell you not to cry, My Love. We both knew this day was going to come, one day one of us would be dead, and the other would be grieving. I don't want you to grieve my love, I don't want you crying.**_

_**I know you'll be blaming yourself, in some way, but please; Don't. I know, no matter what it is, or how it happened, my death was NOT your fault.**_

_**I know it'll take a long time, but I want you to either find peace in my death, or move on. I know you'll never stop loving me, but I want you to be happy. I want you to always smile, especially if you ever happen to be thinking of me. Don't dwell on my death, but always remember the good times, the laughs, the talks, and the just down right stupid shit we did, but never on my death.**_

_**If I died before we could have children, then I'm sorry. I really wanted to have a family with you, watch our daughters grow till my death. If it's after, then tell them that I will always love them, and to not get on your nerves too much.**_

_**You have to admit, if they're my children as well, then they will bug you a bit.**_

_**Tell the crew that I'll miss them all. I know that it's not their fault I'm dead either.**_

_**I'm laying in our bed, with you curled around me again. I love when you sleep in this bed with me. I can't seem to sleep well on my own, and I can never think of this bed as just mine; after our first night it's always been 'ours'.**_

_**Sorry, that part was a bit off topic.**_

_**I was watching you sleep again when it popped in my head to do this. We'll never know when I'll die, and I want you to know I love you.**_

_**I just needed you to know that.**_

_**Samantha Jean Shepard**_

_**P.S. Make sure Tali and Ashley smile a lot, they'll need it just as much as you. And tell Audri that I kept my promise. She'll understand what I mean."**_

_Liara looked up, new tears streaming down her cheeks. She threw the Data-pad back onto the coffee table before standing up and racing to the bathroom. A few minutes later, Sha'ira walked in, kneeling next to Liara and stroking her back._

_"Liara?"_

_"I never got to tell her." Liara murmured, curling in on herself even more. She was fighting off another wave of nausea._

_"Tell her what?"_

_"That I'm..."_

_Something crashed and both Asari looked up to see Audri in the doorway. She had a silly little smirk plastered on her face as she looked at the two of them,_

_"Thought I'd tell my new caretaker that I'm ready to move. If she wants me too."_

_"Wh-what?" Liara stuttered,_

_"Shepard and I talked. Because of the Cyberetics inside my body, I can live almost as long as an Asari. We always knew that I would out live her, but medically wise, I need a 'caretaker'. Shepard had it made that if she died, you became such."_

_Liara nodded, "Alright, but I don't want you to move. I need this place to come to when..."_

_Audri nodded, "Then I will stay and take care of this place. But, you have to make sure I get to meet my little niece."_

_Liara laughed softly, nodding her head, "I will."_

"Dammit Shepard! I know your wounds aren't healed, but you need to wake up!"

Shepard groaned, rubbing her cheek as she rolled off the operation table.

"There is some armor and a gun in the locker next to you. Hurry up."

Shepard growled, stumbling over to the locker and opening it, "This gun doesn't have any clips." She stated, trying as fast as she could to put the armor on. When she was all set, she grabbed the gun and moved towards the door. She listened halfheartedly as she was told what to do by a woman she didn't even know. When the radio cut out she breathed a sigh of relief at now being able to go at her own pace.

She came across a man named Jacob on her way out, talking to him briefly before they kept moving. Anything that had an audio log she had sent to her omi-tool; wanting to listen to it later. She eventually came across Wilson, and though she didn't like him, she helped him. She had figured out long before Jacob told her that they work for Cerberus, but nodded her head anyway.

"Look, I don't give a rats ass who did what. I just want to get the hell away from here and find Liara." She snarled, turning to enter the next room. She left the two behind her, not noticing that they looked at each other in question before following after her.

She had an amused moment when they had finally got to the shuttle room. The door opened to a woman pointing a gun at them. She had smiled at Shepard, saying hello as she turned to Wilson; shooting him in the head. Jacob had nearly yelled at the woman, asking her over and over again on why she had killed Wilson.

"Is there anything you'd like to ask me? Before we go and see our employer?" The woman asked, turning to the commander; and completely ignoring Jacob's fuming.

Shepard frowned, "Could I have your name? And I know you're Cerberus."

"Ah, Jacob." She muttered, "My name is Miranda Lawson. I was the director of the Lazarus Project."

"The what?" Shepard asked, tilting her head, "And just for the record, I had you pinned long before Jacob told me, he was just confirming it."

"The Lazarus Project was what brought you back to life." Miranda explained, "Anything else?"

Shepard looked around, "I don't know, I'm going to assume there's no point in asking where we are, since we most likely won't be coming back. Um..." She reached up and scratched at the back of her neck, "No. Not that I can think of. Are we all ready to go?"

Miranda and Jacob nodded, moving to the shuttle. Shepard looked at the room behind her for a second before following the two Cerberus operatives to the shuttle. When they were all settled in, Shepard gazed out the window; waiting for the next round of questioning.

"Let's ask you a few questions." Miranda said, "We need to make sure you are as you were."

"Like what?" Shepard asked, leaning back and closing her eyes. Her ribs were hurting like hell, as well as her cheek and neck. She couldn't wait to just be able to sit and relax completely, without anyone to bother her.

"Miranda, do we really need to do this?" Jacob asked,

Miranda nodded, "I'll take your word on her combat skills, but I want to make sure she is what she was."

Jacob sighed, "Alright." He muttered, turning to Shepard. "Your profile says you were a military child, growing up on ships."

"Yes. Though I got to spend a lot of time on Earth."

"Why's that?" Miranda asked. She had always been a bit curious of things that had been left out of Shepard's Dossier.

"Audri." Shepard whispered, "She had been one of few survivors of the slave raid on Mindoir. We had been pen-pals for years before it happened, so when she needed a place to stay, my parents offered their house. They went so far as to legally adopt her; meaning she started living with us when we were on ships."

"Alright. On Elysium, you decided to risk your own life to save your fellow soldiers-" Jacob stated,

"Wrong." Shepard murmured, tilting her head to look out the window again, "I did it mostly for a child of the town we were staying in. A little girl had goten captured, her older sister was crying under a tree. When she told me, I grabbed my sniper and pistol and took off like a bat out of hell." Her eyes glazed over as the memory washed over her, not even noticing as her eyes started to glow a slight red, "I slaughtered as many of them as I could... But I was too late. I ended up bringing her dead body back to her family."

Miranda nodded, "Let's talk about something more recent. On Virmire, you had to choose between two of your soldiers."

"I lost Alenko." Shepard said, "I had a feeling something wasn't right, but I had foolishly ignored it, resulting in choosing one over the other."

"Ok, after the defeat of Saren, Humanity was offered a seat on the Council."

"I choose Anderson. Mostly because I hate Udina. The man's way too greedy. That, and we needed someone who would be fair." The Commander said, "Can I ask something?"

"What?" Miranda asked,

"How long have I been gone?" Shepard asked, looking down at the floor between her legs.

"About two and a half years. Almost three. Since it took about two months to find you, and another three to get everything started and working right." Miranda stated.

Shepard sighed sadly, "Thanks." She muttered, leaning back and closing her eyes again.

Miranda and Jacob talked quietly for the rest of the ride. They could tell that Shepard needed a bit of time to herself, especially after what they had just been talking about. When the shuttle came to a stop, Miranda stood and walked over to the Commander, reaching out.

"Touch me and loose a hand." Shepard snarled, her eyes glowing angrily. She stood up and walked out of the shuttle, leaving the other two gawking after her. Not understanding where the sudden shift of emotions had come from.

Shepard knew she had just confused the two people behind her; but she couldn't help it. She had fallen into a light bout of sleep, where she had dreamed of her last night with Liara, before it had turned into a nightmare of the Asari scientist dying in her arms. Having the dream had not left her in a good mood, and she could feel her anger boiling past her limits; hence why she had snapped at Miranda. She had taken a few minutes in the room to try and relax, hoping it would help her from snapping at anyone else.

When she finally stepped onto the circle in the empty room, a sense of annoyance came crashing in around her. The pompous prick wasn't even going to see her face to face? After spending millions of credits to bring her back to life, no less? As the man talked about the Human colonies that were being taken, she decided that she was going to tune him out. It wasn't like he was telling her anything else that was useful. When he was done talking, she nodded, saying she would look into it, at the very least before she turned away from him.

_Humans are being taken, and he wants me to trust my life with two of his best? What the hell,_ She thought to herself, grumbling as she left the room and headed back to the other room. She stopped next to Miranda, waiting for the Cerberus Officer to finish what she was doing.

"Yes, Commander?" Miranda asked, turning to face the other woman.

"I'm sorry I was a bitch to you. I haven't slept well since I was first given the vision by the beacon." Shepard said, bowing her head slightly, "Thank you Miranda Lawson, for saving my life."

For the first time in a while, Miranda felt a blush forming and she had to take a deep breath before she could answer, or she would have stuttered, "You're welcome." She said, looking off to the side, "Uh..."

Shepard chuckled, "I'll be like that a lot." She said, raising her head again to look the woman in the eyes, "I'll have to see about some sleeping pills again, or I'll be a complete bitch when I first wake up."

Miranda nodded, "We'll see about getting you some then. And if not; I'll take it as a compliment if I can get you to cuss at me."

Shepard laughed, nodding her head, "You might be alright after all." She smiled, walking over to Jacob.

She thanked him as well, and wondered about his fighting history. They talked for a few minutes before they all got in the shuttle and headed for Freedom's Progress. They actually did well as a team, except for the fact that Jacob kept reprogramming her sniper with incendiary rounds on accident. They made slow work through the colony, looking for clues or anything else that was just left around. When they opened a door, they came face to face with three Quarian's pointing guns at them.

"Hold it..." One said, looking at them, "Shepard? Is... Is that you?"

"Yeah, Tali. It's me." Shepard responded, smiling at the sight of her old friend, "Did that Geth Data Disk help you on your pilgrimage?"

Tali nodded, smiling slightly behind her mask, "It did. So, what are you doing here?"

"I just became an Investigator." Shepard muttered, pouting, "Cerberus brought me back to life. Collectors are taking Human's. What about you?"

"For one, is that really why you're with them? For two, A Quarian is here on his own Pilgrimage."

Shepard nodded, "Yes, and that would explain the rewritten mecs."

Tali nodded and they went into a small talk about what they would do, before heading out. Miranda and Jacob didn't question; though they really wanted to, and just followed the Commanders orders as they dealt with idiot Quarians and a heavy mec.

"All right, Veetor." Shepard said gently, opening the door to where the guy was hiding, "It's safe now. No one's going to hurt you."

Veetor was very reluctant to answer their questions, but did tell them the truth. Tali came in right as Miranda mentioned taking him for further questioning; ending up in an argument between the Cerberus operatives and the Quarian. Shepard and Veetor watched from the sidelines, the Commander amused by the sight and the sick Quarian just down right confused about what was happening.

"Enough!" Shepard eventually snapped, "Tali will take Veetor back to the Fleet. Anything she finds will be forwarded to me." She looked at her friend, "Right?"

Tali nodded, "Of Course, Jean. Thank you."

Shepard nodded, smiling happily, "You called me by my name."

"After nearly a year of you telling me to." Tali responded, ushering Veetor out the door. She turned to Shepard, "Can I talk to you, for a moment?"

Shepard nodded, following her friend out of the room, "What's wrong Tali?"

Tali stayed silent for a moment, not sure if she should tell Shepard what had happened in the past two years. She was sure that Shepard would want to know, but it should be up to Liara to tell the woman. She did know that she wanted to give Liara a little bit of hope, and took a deep breath,

"A few things, to be honest. The first is that I want you to know Ashley and I are still together." The Quarian stated,

Shepard smiled, "Good... Does that mean she doesn't hate aliens anymore?"

"She only hates the ones that hurt me." Tali answered with a laugh, "The second is that Audri and Sha'ira are still together as well. Audri still lives at your old apartment."

Shepard laughed softly, "Did she take over my bedroom?"

"No. Said something about liking the view better in her room." Tali said, "But now here comes the hard part. I need you to do a favor for me."

"And that is what?" Shepard asked, tilting her head,

"I was wondering if you would record your life. I know that none of us will believe what the politicians will say about you, but I want to reassure them that its not true. That and the fact that you're healthy and alive." Tali responded, ringing her hands nervously.

Shepard was silent, thinking everything over, "So that means you want me to send everything to you?" She asked. When she saw Tali's nod, she sighed, "Alright, I'll see about getting one the next time I dock on the Citadel; just make sure none of it goes out to the public too much. I don't want them to edit everything so that it's twisting the truth."

"Fair enough." Tali murmured, "It was nice seeing you again Jean. But I have to be going now."

"Bye Tali." The Commander murmured, watching her friend leave. It wasn't till the three of them left that she realized she forgot to ask about Liara.

_Dammit. Now I'll have to ask the Illusive Man. Fuck my life..._ She grumbled in her head.

When they got back to the little station they were on before, Shepard went and talked to TIM, though she didn't really want to. She was pissed to find out that he had known all along, and had basically tricked her into working 'for' him to defeat them. Then he tried to talk about a new team, but she had tried to argue for her old one. It hadn't worked, everyone was busy, with their own lives. When she finally accepted that they couldn't help her, he said his good bye. When she turned to leave, she was greeted to the sight of Joker walking down the stairs. They caught up on what happened while she was dead as they walked into the room where Miranda and Jacob were waiting; coming to a stop in front of the glass showing the ship hanger. The space wasn't empty anymore, and it wasn't a hard choice naming it Normandy.

Joker headed for the helm while Miranda and Jacob told her a little about the people on the ship and who they should pick up first,

"Getting Mordin Solus to join us would be a good start." A computerized voice said.

"Uh..." Shepard said, looking around, "Who was that?"

A hologram popped up, showing a blue sphere, "That would be me, Commander. The Crew call me EDI. I am the Ships AI."

"Joker is so not going to like that." Shepard stated, smirking playfully, "Nice to meet you EDI."

"Nice to meet you too, Commander." EDI said, "Is there anything you need?"

"Not at the moment, thank you." Shepard turned back to Miranda and Jacob, "Miranda?"

"Yes ma'am?" The Biotic asked,

"I know you're probably already my XO, but we need to make it official." The Commander said seriously.

"Oh?" Miranda asked, tilting her head slightly, "And how do we do that?"

"We dance." Shepard stated, a slight gleam in her eyes.

Miranda froze, "We what?"

Shepard laughed, shaking her head, "Don't worry about it XO. I'll tell you later." With that, she turned and walked around her ship, talking to Kelly, her new Assistant. They got along alright, bonding over books and their like for Asari. Though Shepard had more of a reason to like them then Kelly, but still. Then she took the elevator down to the Engineering deck and talked with Donnelly and Daniels, asking if there was anything they needed.

Once she told them that they didn't have to act formal, and they told her what they needed; she left the fourth deck and headed up one level. She stopped by Miranda's office, talking to the XO, trying to get the woman to talk about herself.

"I don't care about your genetic make-up, Miranda." Shepard stated, after hearing the CO's story, "I want to get to know _you_, not who you're suppose to be."

Miranda frowned again, looking down at her computer, "There's not much to me, Shepard."

"Ok, let's try again. What's your favorite song?"

"No comment."

Shepard smirked, "Favorite book? Author?"

"No Comment. No Comment." Miranda said, smirking right back at the Commander.

"Favorite hobby?"

"You aren't giving up, are you?"

"Nope." Shepard said, smiling playfully as she turned to leave the room, "I'll try again tomorrow. See ya, XO."

Shepard walked into the Mess Hall and talked to her new cook, promising to get him some food on the Citadel when they were there. From there she made her way to the Med-Bay, surprised to see Dr. Chakwas sitting at the desk, typing away at one of the computers.

"Dr. Chakwas!" Shepard nearly shouted, smiling at her friend, "How are you?"

"I'm good." Chakwas said, standing up and letting Shepard pull her into a brief hug. They sat and talked about the old days; with Shepard asking what Chakwas had been up to in the past two years. When they parted for the day, Shepard turned to her friend with a grin,

"We should have a drink when I get your Iced Brandy."

Dr. Chakwas laughed, nodding her head, "Sure thing Commander."

Shepard smiled, but before she could leave, she was stopped by the doctor again.

"Here. I think you might be needing them, so I had a fresh batch made. _Your_ doctors orders." Chakwas said, tossing a small orange bottle at the Commander.

Shepard groaned as she looked down at the bottle that was nearly full of while little pills. She stared at them silently for a minute before a sad smile graced her lips. She thanked the doctor quietly, leaving the room; where she came across Miranda. The operative asked about the bottle of pills, having seen the doctor tossing them to her.

"I told you earlier about the nightmares left by the beacon, right?" The Commander asked. Miranda nodded and Shepard continued, "About two weeks after Liara joined, she brought my a bottle of them, asking me to think about trying them. She could see that I wasn't sleeping right, and was only trying to be nice. I snapped at her, but a week or so later, I tried them. They helped... For a while." Shepard said, murmuring the last three words. She smiled at her second in command, "I think I'm going to try and sleep for a little bit. Let me know when we reach Omega, or if you need me for anything.

Miranda nodded and they went their separate ways. When she was in the privacy of her own room, she silently got ready for bed, taking one of the pills and laying on her back, staring at the stars through her window. There was only one thought that ran through her mind as sleep claimed her.

_Is it true Liara? Do you really work for the Shadow Broker?_

* * *

**A/N:** I thought I would give a brief warning. I made one rather big difference from the games. I'm sure you figured it out by this chapter, but if not; you'll see next chapter. The story follows both Shepard, Liara, and the friends in their life, while still trying to keep with how the games went. The only thing that's really different is the conversations; and how I wished my character could have reacted to things.

Hope you enjoyed! ^^


	3. Chapter 3

_**This is Their Story- Chapter 3**_

**Rating: M**

**Pairing: (F) Shepard/Liara T'Soni**

**A/N:** Just so everyone knows, It starts of with Miranda's thoughts after finding Shepard with the prescription sleeping pills. Then goes to the middle (Roughly) of the same day to show what Liara is doing.

Don't own _anything_ related to Mass Effect. Pointless to sue, don't got money.

Enjoy! ^^

* * *

Miranda watched as Shepard boarded the Elevator, when the door closed, she turned and headed back to her own room; letting her thoughts wonder on how bad the nightmares were for the Commander to need help sleeping. She only thought on it for a moment before she sat at the desk and started on her paperwork. Once work was done a few hours later, she moved to sit on her couch, grabbing the book she had been reading and flipping to the page she had left off on. Though try as she might, her thoughts continued to stray; this time, though, to the last time she had seen Dr. T'Soni.

_Miranda stood at one end of the small room, right in front of a door that led to where she wanted Shepard to be; if the Asari did indeed get the human's remains. She waited for a long time, watching the door on the other end of the room, waiting for it to open. After another twenty minutes of waiting, the door slid open to show Dr. Liara T'Soni holding what remained of Shepard's body in her arms. They were both encased in a biotic field, and when Liara moved her head to look at the Cerberus Operative, Miranda could see the blood shot eyes and the anger that gleamed from them._

_She wasn't sure if it was faced at her, or at the Shadow Broker; but it still made her flinch to see. _This is a woman that would destroy the known Galaxy... Just to get her Soul Mate back._ She thought, trying desperately to ignore the shiver that went down her spine._

_"Here." Liara said, as she finally reached her. Though her eyes still held anger, her voice was rather soft. She lifted Shepard's body with the help of her biotics, and moved her over to Miranda, who took over with her own biotic field. Liara let her field drop and let out a silent, pained groan; rubbing at her left leg lightly as she watched Miranda._

_"I want only one thing." Liara said softly, her other arm curling around her stomach protectively, "If you can truly bring her back to life."_

_"What?" Miranda asked, willing to give the Asari anything for bringing the Commander here._

_"I'll show you in detail, but there is a tattoo on her left side, written in Human cursive." Liara said, looking down at her love, "It was my name... Will you try and make sure she has it?"_

_"Show me what it looks like and I will." Miranda responded,_

_"Embrace Eternity." Liara murmured, her eyes going black._

_The two stood quietly, while in Miranda's mind, she was standing next to Liara. There was a scene playing out in front of them. Shepard, Liara, and two others were standing in what looked to be a tattoo shop. Liara was looking around in wonder, staring at random pictures that were on display. Shepard was standing at the counter, talking to the artist, gesturing to a piece of paper in front of her._

_Miranda walked over, seeing that it was Liara's name written down on the paper. She watched in silence as the scene shifted; now Shepard stood in front of a mirror. She had her shirt off, and was staring at her side, carefully running her fingers over her new tattoo. Once again, the Cerberus Operative walked over and looked, studying how and where it was placed. Once she was done, she moved to stand next to Liara and felt the world shift._

_When the world came back, they stood watching each other. After a tense minute or two, Liara nodded her head and turned; walking slowly out the door she came in. When the door slid closed, Miranda turned, taking Shepard's body into the room behind her._

Miranda shook her head, coming back to the present. That had been the second time Liara had done that, the first being to show her what she already knew of Shepard, and for Liara to make sure she wasn't lying to her about wanting to help. The feeling had been odd, but in a good way. Miranda had barely finished all the details of the tattoo an hour before Shepard had woken up the first time. At the time, she had wondered if Shepard had felt it, or if her mind had randomly jump started her body into motion.

_I wonder if she's seen it yet...?_ She thought idly before trying to read her book again.

~o0o~

Liara looked around her apartment one last time before she left, letting her eyes rest on Shepard's chest plate. It had taken a lot of convincing on her part, but she had gotten Admiral Hackett to give her the armor. She had promised to give him any information she could find on Shepard, and she had told him what she could; without letting him know that the Commanders body was now in the hands of Cerberus.

_I'm Sorry Jean..._ She thought sadly, sighing as she turned and left; locking the door on her way out. She took a cab to the transport station, boarding the ship that was heading for the Citadel. It would only be an hour trip, give or take; since she always booked the express trip. While she was sitting, staring out the small window next to her seat, her thoughts drifted away from her. She remembered the day she gave Shepard's body over to Miranda. That had been the same day she found out...

_"Jean?" Liara murmured, stroking over the tattoo on the commander's side gently,_

_"Yeah?" Shepard asked, watching her girlfriend._

_Liara looked at her, "This is what human cursive is?"_

_"Yeah, this is how your name is spelled in my language." Shepard responded, grabbing for her shirt, "Your appointment is soon, do you want me to go?"_

_Liara shook her head, "I'm going to drag Sha'ira with me, so you can catch up with Audri. Do you still want to meet for dinner?"_

_Shepard nodded, smiling at her girlfriend as she put her shirt on. They joined Audri and Sha'ira at the door, all four of them heading out. When they reached the point where they would have to go separate ways, the humans gave their lovers a gentle kiss before walking off. Liara smiled slightly at the affection, knowing that Shepard wasn't afraid to show it in public._

_The two Asari turned, heading for Dr. Michel's office. They talked quietly on the way, mostly about the new things Liara had learned about the Prothean's from Shepard. The two had gotten rather close over the past months, more so after Saren had been defeated. Sha'ira was the only one besides Shepard that listened to her without scolding her for what she did for a living. Audri listened as well, but she liked to throw in her own thoughts, to see if Liara could argue her point across._

_Dr. Michel was waiting for them when they made it to her office. Sha'ira waited on one side of the room, out of hearing range, while Liara had the doctor check her over. She'd had an appointment with an Asari doctor, but she had been switched over to Michel since her real doctor was on bed rest for the next few weeks. The human doctor was thorough with everything, she was surprised by one thing though._

_"Liara?" She asked gently,_

_"Hm?" Liara responded,_

_"Did you know that your pregnant?"_

_Liara's jaw dropped, "I-I... What?" She asked,_

_"Yes, by the look of it, you are probably just about eight weeks along." Michel stated._

_Liara frowned, _No, that's can't be... I've only been with Jean, and I was always careful... Wait, eight weeks? That means..._ Her thought trailed off after that, remembering that it had only been two months since they defeated Saren. She didn't really remember much about the appointment after that, everything had blurred at the edges, and it wasn't till she was sitting down at Dinner with Shepard that everything came back into focus._

_She was pregnant... How was she going to tell Shepard?_

Liara was snapped out of her thoughts by the captain telling them that they had landed on the Citadel. Liara stood, walking out of the shuttle and making her way to a taxi stand. She called a cab and programmed Audri's address into it, letting the auto pilot take her there. It was only a ten minute drive, and soon Liara found herself standing in Shepard's old apartment. She heard some noise coming from the kitchen and walked over, finding Audri standing at the stove; a little Asari had her arms and legs wrapped around the human. Liara couldn't help the smile that formed on her face at the sight.

"Antie Adi?" The little girl asked,

"Yes?" Audri asked, glancing sideways at the girl for a second before returning to her cooking,

"Wht ws my daddy's eye colo?"

"The same light shade of green that yours are, little one." Audri answered softly, "Such a pale shade of green that it could have a tint of white to it."

"Wht did I get fom daddy?"

Liara chuckled, "Surely not the love for questions, my little one."

"Mommy!" The little girl shouted, letting go of her aunt and running over to hug her mother tightly around her legs.

"Hello my darling." Liara whispered, kneeling down to give her daughter a hug. She held her tightly for a moment before standing up, "What's for dinner?"

" Mm... It's a surprise." Audri said, smirking, "Keep an eye out for Sha'ira, she should be here soon."

Liara nodded, ushering her girl into the living room and over to the couch. They sat down and flicked the TV on. Audri had gotten several channels that had children's shows. Most of them were human cartoons, but the two year old seemed to love them regardless; but it didn't seem to be enough to distract her today,

"Mommy?" The little girl asked,

Liara turned to look at her, "What is it Nakita?"

"Wil yu aswer my qustin?"

"You got her eyes," Liara started, smiling, "You also got her love and care for all things. Maybe even a little bit of her protectiveness." The Information Broker said, adding the last part.

She could remember Audri telling her about Nakita being protective over an abused Pet that they had found in the part. It wasn't till the owner came and got it that Nakita seemed to calm down. The little girl had also thrown a small biotic fit when she heard that a Turian had asked her mother out on a date. She had gone into a small rant about how her Mommy wasn't into Turians and that she had a Daddy who would beat him up if she heard about the event. Audri had just about passed out from lack of air at the sight; she had been laughing way too hard. It took the two of them an hour to calm the little girl down, who hadn't been happy about it. It was only when Sha'ira came over and explained that no one would take her daddy's place, did Nakita willing go to bed.

Liara had asked the Consort about the protectiveness that her daughter had shown. Sha'ira just smiled, telling her that it was inherited from both of her parents, and that she was rather strong to be able to use biotics at the age of two. It had surprised them both that the little girl had been able to control it, with out it lashing out or hurting her in the process. Even after that little talk, she was still a bit surprised to see her own daughter being protective of her, though it worked both ways. Audri and Sha'ira were two of the few people she trusted watching her daughter for her. Once she became a well known Information Broker, she had asked her two friends to watch Nakita for her; not wanting to put her daughter at risk while she went after the Shadow Broker.

The sound of the front door opening snapped Liara out of her thoughts. Mother and daughter turned to see Sha'ira walking through the open door, smiling naturally.

"Hey pretty lady. What are you thinking about?" She said playfully, slipping into the personality that she only showed around her lover and friends.

"My daughters protective streak." Liara answered, chuckling softly.

"Antie Sha!" Nakita shouted happily, jumping into Sha'ira's awaiting arms.

"That's something she gets from both of her parents, huh Naki?" Sha'ira asked the little girl, tapping her gently on the nose.

"Mm-Hm." Nakita said, smiling, "No one meses wth my mommy."

"Yes, little one. No one touches her." Audri said, walking into the room to give her lover a kiss on the cheek, following it up with a kiss to Nakita's cheek as well.

Nakita giggled, swatting at her aunt playfully, "Dinr redy?" She asked, snuggling into Sha'ira's arms.

Audri nodded and they all sat down at the table, enjoying the food Audri had made for them. Nakita took it upon herself to fill her mother in on everything she had done since the last time Liara had visited throughout dinner. Liara tried to visit every two to three days, if she could; spending at least one night here with her daughter. The only times it was different, was when she would come and pick her up, to take her back to Illuim so that Audri and Sha'ira could have a little time to themselves. The two never complained about watching the little mini-me of their friend, but could understand that Liara just wanted her daughter to herself some times.

When dinner was over, they moved to the living room, the couple taking the love seat while Liara laid down on the couch, Nakita rest on top of her while watching cartoons. The three adults quietly talked, not wanting the little girls wrath on them about not being able to hear the show. They probably shouldn't find it funny, but who wouldn't think a two year old was cute; when she had her hands placed on her hips and a frown on her face while trying to glare at the three of them? Plus, she never actually talked back to them in any sense, even if she was angry or in trouble for something, so they let it slide.

It was a little over an hour later that Nakita fell asleep, snuggling closer to her mothers warmth. Liara smiled at the sight, slowly getting to her feet and holding her daughter against her. She nodded to the other two, before walking into Shepard's room, laying Nakita in the middle of the bed. She placed a pillow on each side of the bed so Nakita wouldn't fall off. She sat and watched her for a few minutes.

"I love you, my Little one." She murmured, kissing her daughter on the forehead. She stood, looking around the room with longing, she saw Audri leaning on the frame out of the corner of her eye.

"She's always asking me questions about Sammi." Audri whispered, watching her niece sleeping, "She's always wondering. Something she got from you, I'm sure." She sighed, looking at the Prothean Scientist, "I miss my friend Liara." She told her, fighting back tears, "She would have loved to meet her own daughter."

It felt like a knife had been stabbed through Liara's heart as she heard the other woman. She smiled sadly, "I miss her too." She murmured, "Thank you, Audri." She added, looking up.

"For what?" The human asked, tilting her head in question.

"For taking care of her." Liara said, looking down at her daughter again, "If anything happened to her, I don't know what I would do."

"Are you close to finding the Shadow Broker?" Audri asked,

"Not yet." Liara muttered darkly, "But I'm looking into something that might prove helpful. I'm going to take a quick shower, alright?"

Audri nodded, watching as Liara walked into the bathroom; when the door closed, she turned back to her niece, watching her sleep in her friends old bed. She smiled at the sight, seeing that Nakita had developed Shepard's habit of cuddling with a pillow while asleep. She closed the door gently and walked over to the couch, curling up with Sha'ira as the Consort looked for something to watch. They stayed up for another hour or so, before moving to their own room and going to bed.

~o0o~

Liara groaned gently as she rolled over, trying to find her omi-tool. The thing was beeping rather loudly, and she didn't want it to wake Nakita up. She had just barely begun to fall a sleep after an hour of laying in bed with her little girl, when the thing decided to go off.

She finally found it after a minute, turning it on to see that Tali was calling her. Her anger vanished as she answered,

"Yes Tali?" She whispered.

Tali tilted her head, "Did I call at a bad time, Liara?" She whispered back.

"No, Nakita is sleeping. I don't want to wake her. We both know I won't be able to get her back asleep." The Asari responded.

Tali nodded, "I ran into Shepard today." She said softly, ringing her hands nervously.

Liara's heart stopped, _So Cerberus did it? They brought her back?_ She thought, glancing at Nakita, "What happened?" She asked her friend.

"I was sent out to retrieve a Quarian on his Pilgrimage. Shepard was there with two other humans, investigating about the missing colony. She saved my team, and Veetor, even defended him; not letting those Cerberus people take him. I asked to talk to her privately, for a moment." Tali explained, trailing off at the end though.

"What did you say?" Liara asked, concern filling her.

"I told her that Ashley and I were still together, same with Audri and Sha'ira." Tali stated, "Then I asked her to do me a favor."

"What was that?"

"I asked her to record her day to day life. I know that you'll want to be the one to tell her about Nakita, but I thought that she could at least see what her father is up to; what she's like. I told Shepard that it was to reassure everyone that she hadn't changed, even though she had been 'dead' for almost three years." Tali explained, "I just wanted you to know that."

Liara nodded, "Thank you. I'm guessing that means she'll be sending the video's to you then?"

"Yes."

"Alright, just try to cut out as much as you can on the dangerous things, ok?" Liara requested, trying to fight back a yawn.

Tali nodded, "I'll try my best. Go to sleep Liara, I'll talk to you later. Good night."

Liara smiled at her friend, "Good night." She murmured, ending the call and placing her Omi-Tool back on the night stand. She laid down with her daughter, pulling the little girl tightly to her chest.

"Good night, my darling." She murmured before falling asleep.

* * *

**A/N:** Ok, so hopefully I didn't throw anyone too far off in this chapter. Sorry that it's a bit on the short side, compared to the last chapter. I had all of this typed up about a month ago. I'm trying to make things longer, without boring everyone too badly.

Hope you enjoyed! ^^


	4. Chapter 4

_**This is Their Story- Chapter 4**_

**Rating: M**

**Pairing: (F) Shepard/Liara T'Soni**

**A/N:** I just want to warn everyone, I got the two DLCs for the different outfits, so know that Miranda is wearing her 'new' armor when on a mission, and Garrus has opted to make use of the new armor and has upgraded to it. So he'll always be wearing it.

Don't own _anything_ related to Mass Effect. Pointless to sue, Don't got money.

Enjoy! ^^

* * *

_"She's gone, they took her." A little girl cried, curling in on herself more._

_Shepard leaned down, "Sweetie?" She whispered, "Who took her?"_

_"The evil men. They took my sister." The girl whimpered._

_Shepard frowned, "Come here sweetie, let's get you home."_

_The little girl nodded, letting the soldier pick her up and directed her to where her parents lived. Shepard handed the little girl over, promising that she would try her best to get her sister back. The parents were crying just as badly, hugging their oldest daughter tightly between them. Shepard nodded to them before leaving._

_She ran to the bunker that housed her weapons. Grabbing her sniper and hand pistol, She ran out to where a small camp of Batarians were resting. She waited quietly till they were all asleep and took them out, one by one with her sniper. She left one alive, sneaking up to him and waking him with her pistol pointed at his head. She questioned him on where the main camp was, listening as he stuttered out the answer, before shooting him point blank in the face._

_She spent the whole night moving from camp to camp, killing all of the Batarians that she came across. It was the early morning when she got to the main base, where she took out all the guards and walked into the old building that was being used. From that point on, everything was close combat, with Shepard using her pistol to kill anyone she came across that pointed a gun at her._

_By the time the building was clear, she was covered in cuts, bruises, and a huge amount of blood that wasn't her own. She moved to the room where they kept the prisoners, and nearly cried as she saw the dead bodies of several people from the town. She actually did break down as she saw the body of the only child in the room. This, was how her Superior found her twelve hours later; holding the little girls body in her arms, tears streaming down her cheeks silently._

Shepard jolted awake, a scream lodged in her throat while tears trailed down her face. She looked around her cabin, seeing that her biotics had flared around her again. With a grunt, she let her field down as she rolled out of bed and went to take a quick shower. Once done, she headed down to the mess hall to make herself some food. Her cook wasn't there, so she looked through what they had and decided on making an egg mic-muffin. She didn't notice that Miranda walked out of her room and was now standing there watching her in silence.

Shepard started humming to herself, twirling around as she started dancing as well. She turned to get a plate and spotted her XO.

"Hey Miss Lawson, would you like some breakfast?" She asked, turning back to the stove.

Miranda nodded, walking over and sitting at the long counter, "What is it?"

"Something I haven't had since I was on Earth last." Shepard responded, setting about making another breakfast mic-muffin. When she was done, she set the plates down and went looking for something to drink.

"Aha!" She shouted, grinning happily as she pulled out a small glass bottle of milk.

"What?" Miranda asked,

"We have some milk. It's always good with eggs and bacon." Shepard answered, pouring two cups and handing one to the dark haired woman.

They ate their food slowly, talking about upgrades for the Normandy and the Dossiers they had gotten from TIM. Archangel and Mordin were both on Omega, and an odd feeling washed over the Commander. She forced it away, not really sure what it was about. When they were both done, Shepard took the dishes and washed them, putting them away after drying them. Miranda watched her the whole time, wondering if she had always been like this.

Shepard went back to humming to herself as she waved her goodbye to Miranda, walking to the elevator. She asked EDI to take her down to the shuttle bay, wanting to see how much space was down there. She didn't need to worry, though most of their supplies were down there, along with the shuttle, there was a large space that had been left empty. Without thinking much about it, she started planning on how she wanted it to be set up, making it her new workout area. She would have to see about getting a few things on Omega, but it should be rather easy to get what she needed.

For the time being though, she contented herself with doing the basics. She did several sets of push-ups, sit-ups, jumping-jacks... The whole works. She was still working out; standing on her hands and doing push-ups, when the elevator's door opened, showing Kelly Chambers.

"Commander?" She asked, shocked to see Shepard working out.

"Hmm?" Shepard asked, finishing her last set before getting back onto her feet. She lifted the bottom half of her shirt and wiped at the sweat on her face, "What is it, Kelly?" She asked again, when no response was forth coming.

Kelly snapped out of her daze, turning her head to look at the wall behind Shepard, trying to get the image of the Commander's near six pack abs out of her mind, "Sorry, I wasn't expecting you to be down here. I just needed something." She muttered, moving to a crate and opening it.

Shepard watched her, letting her shirt fall back down, she could have sworn Kelly was just checking her out, but pushed the thought to the back of her mind. She walked over, and rode the elevator up with her assistant, stopping on the CIC deck to drop her off before going back to her cabin. She took another shower, washing the sweat off of herself. She never once looked down at herself, not sure what her body now looked like, though it still felt the same. She even went so far as to refusing to look in the mirror, not wanting to see the glow of her eyes that had started to show. That thought stopped when she finally took notice of a slightly rough patch of skin on her side.

_Please don't let this be a trick of my mind._ She begged silently, shutting off the water and walking over to the sink. She turned slightly, taking a deep breath and looking into the mirror. There, scrawled across her left side in blue ink was Liara's name, written in Human writing. A smile broke out on Shepard's lips as she traced the letters slowly, feeling her love for the Asari flowing through her.

"I will see you again, Liara. I promise." She whispered to herself, grabbing a towel and drying off. She went out of the bathroom and got dressed, but didn't put a shirt on; she needed to be close to her lover, and the tattoo was the only way at the moment... Or so she thought. She walked over to her desk and sat down, just now realizing there was a picture frame next to her two terminals. She had only been in her cabin long enough to get some sleep and take a shower, so she had never really noticed it till she finally sat down. Without thinking, she reached out and touched the screen, watching as it came to life and showed a picture of Liara smiling.

She remembered fondly the day that picture had been taken.

_"Come on, Commander." Ashley pouted, tugging on Shepard's wrist, "I need to get out of this gloomy ship, and I know just how to do it."_

_Shepard sighed, rubbing her forehead as she let the Gunnery Chief drag her out of her bedroom. She knew what was going to happen next, but didn't have the heart to tell Ashley no. She was right after all..._

_"Alright. But I'm not going shopping with you alone." The Commander stated, pointing to Tali and Liara, "Get them to come too or no go."_

_Ashley squealed and ran over to the other two women. For a woman who prided herself on being professional, she was like any other when it came to shopping. The only difference was that she would spend hours looking at guns, armor, and upgrades to go with. Shepard could understand, since she spent a fair amount of time doing the same, but she also liked to just relax and browse over other things as well._

_Shepard wasn't sure how Ashley convinced the two aliens, but In no time at all, they were walking around the Citadel; looking in on shops and enjoying themselves. They knew they needed it after what had happened on Virmire a few days previous, and Ashley had been the one to make sure it happened. It was nearing the end of the day, and they were sitting in the park. Tali and Ash were talking about a weapon they had been testing yesterday, leaving Liara and Shepard by themselves._

_"I have a question." Shepard stated, looking up at the sky, "Is the sunset beautiful on Thessia?"_

_"Where did that come from?" Liara asked, laughing softly._

_The Commander smiled, looking back at the Asari, "After hearing a lot about Thessia, I had to wonder if it was worth it to go there."_

_"And how you figure out if visiting a planet is worth it is by the beauty of the sunset?" Liara asked, tilting her head._

_"Sunrise too."_

_Liara chuckled, looking up at the sky, "I would have to say yes, it is worth it." She answered finally, turning back to smile at the Human next to her._

_"Then you'll have to take me there and show me." Shepard responded, just as two different flashes went off. She blinked repeatedly before turning to the source, seeing Tali ducking behind a grinning Ashley._

_Both of their Omi-Tools were showing as they got up and dashed off, laughing like mad men. Liara was looking after them with confusion, before turning back to Shepard,_

_"What was that all about?" She asked, confusion lacing her voice as well._

_Shepard shrugged, "Let's go find out."_

_An hour later, they were both visited by the two, producing a picture frame to them. Shepard had been in her cabin, after returning to the ship a few minutes prior, and had looked at the frame in confusion, before watching it show a picture of Liara, smiling. Liara was the same, though instead it was a picture of Shepard._

_Ashley and Tali never truly explained why they had given them the pictures, and after a time they had forgotten about the 'why' of it._

"I love you." Shepard swore, as she came back from the day dream, "I will always love you." She promised, before turning to her computer and starting up her own 'journal'. After a while, EDI came over the comm and told her they had arrived at Omega. That same feeling of dread went through her and she went to put her armor on; the weight of it on her making the feeling despite a bit.

"EDI. Patch me through to Jacob and Miranda, for a moment." Shepard said softly, standing by her computer for a second.

"Patched through Commander."

"Thanks. Be ready, at least two guns, and Jacob, could you bring my Sniper?"

"Yes, Ma'am." He responded,

"Is something wrong, Shepard?" Miranda asked,

"I'm not sure. But last time I had a feeling like this, I lost someone." Shepard responded, stroking over Liara's picture for a second before leaving her cabin and getting in the Elevator. She met the other two at the airlock, getting her sniper and pistol from Jacob. They left the Normandy, and headed to After Life when they were 'told' to.

"If you're looking for weapons..." Shepard muttered to the Batarian that was scanning her. She pulled her gun free, waving it slightly before putting it back. The guy huffed out a breath, telling Aria that they were 'clean', and letting them pass.

The two of them had a somewhat tense talk, with Shepard asking about Mordin and Archangel. That feeling came over her in a rush again, and she frowned.

"Is there something wrong?" Miranda asked, eying Aria with caution.

"No. Yes." Shepard stated, shaking her head, "Thank you Aria. I'll try and be good around here. No promises though." She added, talking to the Asari now. She stood and bowed formally to the woman, chuckling when she heard a surprised gasp. She then turned and headed for the room the mercenaries were using.

She was done with them within minutes, even stopped a boy from going in. They headed to the pick up and left, getting a bit of info on what was happening. They moved through the area, picking up anything that looked interesting. Trying to find the Batarian they were told to go to. She waited till they were alone with him before she killed him, making her way to Archangel to help him.

The feeling went away for a while, once she found out it was Garrus. It came back when the fighter jet came in, and knew why when her friend was shot, laying limp on the ground as she destroyed the thing for good. With a pounding heart, she ran over to him, sighing softly when she heard him take a deep breath. The three of them headed back to the Normandy, where Chakwas was waiting.

Shepard was pacing the comm room when Miranda walked in, "I need to go into the markets, is there anything you need?" She asked,

"Yes. A few things, if you would." Shepard said, she transferred her list to Miranda's Omi-tool, as well as a sum of credits to cover everything. Miranda nodded, heading out the door as Jacob came in. They talked about Garrus' recovery for a minute before the Turian himself showed up.

"No one would give me a mirror. Tell me the truth, is it that bad?"

"Hell Garrus, you were always ugly..." Shepard said, smirking playfully at her old friend.

"Heh, Some women like facial scars. Mind you, most of them are Krogan." Garrus said, hobbling over to stand next to his friend.

Shepard smiled, "I'm going into hell. I want people I can trust at my back."

"You know that means I'm going into hell too, yes?"

Shepard smirked, "The forward batteries are all yours, if you want?"

"You suck at bargaining Shepard." Garrus stated, turning and heading to the Batteries.

Shepard smiled after her friend, before turning to the table, "EDI, patch me through to my mother, please."

"Right away, Commander." EDI responded, already knowing what ship and who to look for.

When the table lowered, Shepard stepped into it and stood. A hologram of her mother appeared in front of her and she couldn't stop the smile, happy to see her mother again.

"Hi mom."

"Hi honey. What's up?" Hannah responded.

"You told me to call when I could. I wanted to see how you were..." Shepard said, her voice trailing off at the end.

"And?" Hannah asked, knowing her daughter too well.

"And I was wondering if you knew anything about Liara?" She asked, blushing slightly as she scratched at the back of her neck.

"No, not really. I keep in touch with Audri though. She says that Liara is fine, if a bit sad and stressed. Aren't you going to go see her?" Hannah asked. She had never actually met Liara, but had heard enough about her from both her real, and adopted, daughters to know that she meant the world to Samantha.

"The first chance I get. I have to recruit one more person on Omega, then I'm heading to the Citadel for a day." Shepard told her.

"Well, maybe she'll be there. Look, Honey. I have to go. I love you." Hannah said, as the Hologram started to go out, "Oh, and it's good to have you back, Samantha."

"I love you too Mom." Shepard said, watching the transmission go out. She walked out of the room and headed to her cabin.

She slept for a few hours, before getting up and going to Miranda's office. The XO had come back and was working on paperwork on her terminal. She stated that Shepard's training equipment was in the shuttle bay, waiting for her. Shepard nodded, smiling her thanks.

"I think we should go get Mordin... Think Garrus would be up to it?" She asked her second in command.

"Maybe, but we should be careful. He's still pretty wounded." Miranda responded, standing, "Would you like me to notify him?"

"No. Get your armor on, I'll head up and do the same. EDI, Let Garrus know what we have planned, also that we have some armor parts for him, if he wants them." Shepard said.

"Of course Shepard." Miranda and EDI responded at the same time.

~o0o~

Not long after that conversation, that the three of them found themselves being attacked by Blood pack. They took their time fighting through them as they tried to locate Mordin. Garrus was trying not to show that he was coughing, knowing that his friend needed him strong, in case something happened. Miranda, on the other hand, was taking more notice in how Shepard worked. The woman was a true infiltrator, walking without making a sound, taking down two or three enemies at a time before being seen. Her skills were also shown in how she seemed to know what and how to open boxes and crates to get what was inside them.

The few times she showed her biotics only seemed to be when Garrus was in need of help and she was too far away. Besides that, she stuck to her sniper unless she was too close. When they finally made it to Mordin, Shepard was pouting over being low on sniper rounds. Garrus joked that he would get more hits then her and they would go into a debate on who was better.

Mordin was in full talk mode when they got to him. He talked about joining if they would help him distribute the cure through the air ducks. They nodded, leaving to do just that. They saved his helper, with Shepard being honest and promising to let the Batarians go if they would drop their guns. They fought through the blood pack and got the cure out, returning to Mordin.

They watched him talk with his assistant, before they headed to the Normandy. They had a small talk in the comm room before for Shepard walked out with Mordin.

"Here you go Mordin." Shepard stated, opening the lab for him, "This is your little slice of heaven. The bug is in that container in the corner, have fun with it. It you need anything, ask EDI."

Mordin nodded, moving around the place, "Thank you Commander. I will get started right away."

Shepard nodded, leaving the room, She came to a stop in front of her XO on the CIC deck, "Miranda, I'll be back. I need to see if I can find something in the markets."

"Ok, Commander." Miranda stated, getting into the elevator.

Shepard walked off the ship, keeping just a pistol with her. She wondered into After Life, heading up to the VIP Booth that Aria used. The Queen of Omega was in a rather giving mood, enough to talk to the human. Shepard showed her the data-pad that said she was the next target of the different groups.

"Thank you, Shepard." Aria said, rather truthfully, after she had chucked the note at one of her guards, "Now, is there anything else?"

Shepard thought about it, "Do you know where I could get a camera?" She finally asked,

Aria looked at her, "Seriously?"

Shepard nodded, "I've been dead for two years, and I'm not in the mood to go wandering around aimlessly while trying to find one."

Aria sighed, "Well, my image of you just went down the drain. There should be an old used shop in the markets, on the lower level. If it's not there, then there's probably none."

Shepard nodded, "Thank you." She murmured, standing and bowing respectfully. She turned to leave when Aria called her back,

"Shepard, where did you learn that bow?" Aria asked, it had been bugging her since she had seen the human do it earlier that day.

Shepard shrugged, "The Consort was nice enough to show me. Helped me perfect it. Now I just do it out of habit when I talk to any Asari who isn't trying to kill me."

"You actually know the Consort?" Aria asked with a snort,

Shepard smirked, "I might not of had sex with her, but I know her better then people think. Now, I'll leave you be; I'm sure you don't want me here anymore anyway." With that she left, stopping by the bar for a moment when she caught sight of a bottle of the Iced Brandy that Chakwas had mentioned. She bought the bottle and headed out of the club, walking into the markets and finding the used goods shop. They did indeed had an old camera, and she only had to pay a hundred or so credits to get it. After that, she headed back to the ship, intending to fix the camera enough to work properly.

When she got to the ship, she went down to the crew deck and placed the camera on an empty table, before going down the the shuttle bay and getting a few tools. When she came back, she was greeted to the sight of both Miranda and Garrus looking at the broken pieces that were scattered around the table. Shepard cleared her throat,

"What?" She asked them, when they turned to look at her.

"What are you doing with a camera?" Miranda asked,

"Doing a favor for Tali." Shepard responded, placing the tools on the table. She looked at Garrus, "What about you?"

"I was just wondering if you could fix it." The Turian stated

"I made cybernetic implants when I was seventeen. You really think I couldn't rebuild an old camera?" Shepard asked playfully, glaring at her old friend.

Garrus gulped, shaking his head as he turned and headed back to the forward batteries.

Shepard watched him go, waiting till he was out of sight before turning to Miranda. She held out her hand, "You owe me a dance, Miss Lawson." She stated playfully.

Miranda huffed, but took the offered hand. Shepard played a song over her Omi-Tool, and they danced slowly around the room. They were about two songs into it when the crew finally started taking notice, even Dr. Chakwas eventually stood around them watching. The doctor knew that Shepard had always been into dancing before she had died, and she was happy to see that it hadn't changed. When the third song was over Shepard pulled back and bowed to Miranda,

"Welcome to my ship, Miranda." She murmured,

Miranda nodded, not really sure what she should say. After a minute Shepard smiled at her and sat down at the table, getting to work on the camera. Miranda watched for a time, before going back to her room and grabbing her book.

It didn't take Shepard long to fix up the old thing, and sound she had it following her around. She would have to tweak the programming as she went, erasing the old and setting up new ones, but for now; she just let it follow. She headed down to the Shuttle bay and set up her training gear in the far corner, getting it all ready for the next time she had a nightmare. When that was done, she headed back up to the med-bay.

"Hey doc. I got your brandy." She said, when the door opened, holding up the bottle in her hand.

Chakwas chuckled, "You didn't have to do that, but thank you." She stated, standing to take the bottle. She looked down at it thoughtfully for a few minutes, "I always regretted not opening that bottle, what do you say we crack it open and have a few drinks?" She asked, looking back up at Shepard.

The Commander smirked, "I'll go get some glasses."

She went into the mess and grabbed a few glasses, twirling them around her hands. Miranda and Garrus caught sight of her, looking a bit confused. She smiled, made a short comment and went back to the med-bay. She turned the camera off and watched as Chakwas poured them each a cup.

They talked for the next hour, mostly about random things that had happened in the past. They made a toast to Alenko and Jenkins, before Chakwas hobbled over to one of the beds and laid down. Shepard chuckled at the sight, before getting up and heading out of the room.

* * *

**A/N:** Ok, so I'm sort of skipping a bit of info here, but you'll understand why in the next chapter. I have about two more chapters typed up, and then I'll have to start working really hard on this story again...

Hope you enjoyed! ^^


	5. Chapter 5

_**This Is Their Story- Chapter 5**_

**Rating: M**

**Pairing: (F) Shepard/Liara T'Soni**

**A/N:** Sorry it's taking me so long to post this. I lost most of my stories about two weeks ago, so I have to try and retype everything I want again.

Don't own anything related to Mass Effect. Pointless to sue, don't got money.

Hope you Enjoy! ^^

* * *

_She stood in front of Feron, staring him down. She had listened to his words, about how he was going to help her. She wasn't sure why, but a small tingle went off in her head. _Do not trust, till you know where his loyalties are_, the thought was sudden, and sounded like Shepard. Liara closed her eyes, trying desperately to keep the tears at bay. She took the thought to heart, but nodded at Feron._

_"I'll be leaving for Illium in two days. Be ready by then." She said,_

_Feron nodded, "I will see you in two days then."_

_She watched him walk away, then looked down at the drink the Drell had brought her. She sighed softly and grabbed the bottle, taking it with her back to her hotel room._ Just one more lonely night,_ she thought, as she flopped onto her bed,_ I miss you Jean..._ She added, closing her eyes and resting her hands on her stomach protectively._

Liara opened her eyes, sitting up in bed. She looked around and saw that the other half of Shepard's bed was empty, meaning her daughter was up and moving around. Stretching her arms, Liara got up and went into the bathroom, getting ready for the day. She wasn't scared that her daughter would leave; the three of them had drilled that rule into her mind, never leave the house by yourself. Nakita had been smart, listening to her Mother and Aunts. She had asked about when she got older though, at which point Audri laughed and told her that she would be able to do whatever she wanted when she was old enough.

Liara laughed at the memory as she stepped out of the bathroom, and headed to the living room. Nakita sat on a pillow that was placed on the ground between the couch and coffee table, looking at something on Audri's Omni-Tool. She turned when she heard footsteps and got to her feet when she saw her mother,

"Morning Mommy." She said, moving closer and holding out her arms.

Liara smiled, bending down and picking her little girl up, "Morning Darling." She said, moving back to where Nakita was sitting.

The older of the two sat on the couch, while her daughter slid down to sit on the pillow between her mothers legs. The Omni was paused on a blurred picture of Shepard in what looks like Afterlife on Omega.

"Audi sid tht thre wre rmors tht Daddy miht be alve... She let me see ths." Nakita said, replaying the short video.

Shepard stood before a purple hued Asari, with two others behind her. The vid didn't have audio, so they couldn't hear what was being said, but could see their lips moving. The conversation came to an end and Shepard bowed respectfully to the Asari, making her gasp, before walking away. The vid cut out after that, with the blurred picture of Shepard heading down a set of stairs.

Liara sat staring at the little screen, her heart racing; till her Omni-Tool went off. She got up and retrieved it from the room, turning it on to see that she had two messages.

_To: Liara T'Soni_

_From: A_

_Subject: Payment_

_I'm assuming by now that your friend Audri has gotten the vid that I made sure she got a hold of. Our deal is done. You saved my life, and I repaid you how you asked._

_Don't contact me again, if you know what's good for you._

_-Aria_

Liara chuckled softly, she had saved Aria from a sniper that had been trying to kill the ruler of Omega for several weeks. Aria had been reluctant to pay her back, but Liara had only asked her to send a vid to Audri if Shepard ever showed up on Omega... If the Spectre ever returned from the dead. Aria had agreed, seeing how Liara had given her a tidbit of Information that she could use to her advantage.

Liara had known what she had done, but knew that her information wouldn't come back to bite her in the ass anytime soon. Shaking her head of the memory, she turned to her second message,

_To: Liara T'Soni_

_From: Tali'Zorah_

_Subject: Visit_

_Hey, I just wanted to let you know I'll be on the Citadel tomorrow. I was wondering if you would like to meet up? I'll only be able to stay for the night, but I wanted to see Naki. Ashley has a present for her too._

_Let me know if you can._

_-Tali_

Liara smiled, moving back to the couch and sitting down with her daughter between her legs again, "Sweetie?"

"Yes Mommy?" Nakita asked, tilting her head back to be looking at her mother.

"I know we were going to leave tonight so you could spend some time with me alone, but Tali just sent a message. She'll be here tomorrow and wants to see you. Ashley has a present for you as well." Liara explained, "Would you like to wait one more day?"

"Wll I stil gt to go to Ilum wth yu?" The little Asari asked,

"Of course, Darling. We'll just have to spend one of our days in the office for a while."

"Ok." Nakita said, turning back to the Omni-Tool and looking at the picture again.

They stayed like that for a little while, silently staring at the person they both wished were here. Nakita wanted to meet her Daddy really badly, but knew that she would have to wait a little while longer before she could. Liara, on the other hand, was trying despretly to fight back the panic and fear of Shepard not loving her anymore. Her heart broke slightly at even the thought of it.

"Mommy?" Nakita asked, seeing the sad look on her mothers face.

"Yes, Darling?"

"Ar yu alrght?"

Liara smiled, "You are so much like your father. I'm fine, little one. I just miss her."

"Cn I gt her a gift?"

Liara nodded, "After breakfast."

Nakita smiled, crawling into her mother laps, wrapping her arms as tight as she could around her. Liara wrapped an arm around her daughter as she turned the TV on; turning it to the cartoons that Nakita liked.

It was only a little while later that Audri's door opened, showing Sha'ira walking towards them in a dark blue dress. She smiled at them, walking over to give Nakita a kiss on her forehead; like she did every morning.

"I have an appointment this morning." She said softly, "I should be back by lunch."

Liara nodded, "Is Audri still sleeping?"

"Yeah, I felt her crawl back into bed about an hour ago. I think she'll be out for another hour or so." Sha'ira stated, moving towards the door, "I'll see you later."

"By-by Ante Sha!" Nakita said, waving to her aunt.

Liara waved as well, turning back to the TV.

The two sat watching cartoons till Audri woke up, dragging herself out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. She started on breakfast right away, making scrambled eggs for Nakita and fried for Liara and herself. When it was ready, the human called the two Asari's to the table for food. Nakita nearly ran to the table, hopping into her chair with the help of her biotics.

Liara laughed at the sight, knowing that Sha'ira was giving her daughter lessons in how to control her Biotics. They sat down and ate in comfortable silence, with Nakita asking if Audri would join them in shopping.

Audri was all for it and the three of them left the Apartment and headed for the market district.

~o0o~

Ashley stood in front of Admiral Hacket, who was on vid-com, listening to him talk of the rumors of Shepard. They were circling around that she was working with Cerberus, a group that were not alien friendly, but used them to further their means anyway. A jolt of anger shot through her, and she wanted to ring her friends neck. She hated that Shepard had put them all through the pain of her death, and wanted her to know it.

"Williams?"

Ashley gave a start, "Sorry Admiral. Is there something you would like me to do?"

"Not yet, but in time, I will need you to deploy to a colony. I will give you the details in about a week."

Ashley nodded, saluting the Admiral before the link went dead. She left the Human councilors office and walked down to the park right outside her apartment. She sat down on a bench and watched the people as they walked by. Her thoughts were broken sometime later by the beeping of her Omni-Tool.

She answered it to see her girlfriends masked face looking back at her.

_"Hi love. What are you doing?"_ Tali asked, leaning back in her chair.

"Just people watching. What about you?"

_"I had some time in between missions. I thought I'd come by? I should be there tomorrow."_

Ashley smiled, "I'd love that. I saw Liara and Nakita shopping earlier, do you want to give Naki her present?"

_"I already sent a message to Liara. She said they would wait till tomorrow night to leave for Illium. Is that alright?"_

"That's fine. I'll wrap the present tonight. I have paperwork to do tomorrow, though, so I'll have to leave their place early."

Tali nodded over the screen, _"Alright. I'll stay for a few hours with them, before heading back home."_

Ashley smiled again, when they had first gotten the apartment, Tali had called it home, but the human had thought she meant the Flortilla. It had nearly crippled her emotionally, till the Quarian had sat her down and explained that the apartment was and would always be her home, now that they were together.

They ended the call shortly after, saying 'I love you' before the link died. Ashley made her way back into the apartment and set about wrapping the gift they had gotten for their niece. When she was done, she set it down on the table by the door so she could take it with her when she went to the shuttle landing to pick up her lover.

_It would feel like forever till it was tomorrow,_ She thought as she took a seat on the couch and started cleaning her SMG.

~o0o~

Liara and Audri were walking down the street, watching as Nakita skipped in front of them. They were right outside one of the few shops in the upper half of the markets. The Asari at the door, waved at Nakita as the little girl ran over.

"Hello Alxa!" Nakita said happily, waiting as her mother and aunt caught up to her, "I'm hre to by a pesnt fr daddy."

Alexia laughed, nodding to Liara and Audri, "Well, little one, what do you want to get her?"

"Um..." Nakita scratched her cheek, tilting it to the side in thought, "I'm nt sre."

"She always looked at the necklaces when we would pass by." Liara said, giving her daughter an idea.

Nakita nodded, "Thn cn I lok at the Neklac's, pease Alxa?"

"Of course, little one." Alexia said, holding out her hand and guiding Nakita over to the necklace display.

Liara turned to Audri, "Alexia?"

"Her sister works for Sha'ira. All of those lady's are totally smitten with Naki. They've offered time and again to watch her for us if we need it." Audri answered, "We were all going out to dinner one night, and Nakita wanted to pick Sha'ira up from the Chambers. She said it was the gentlemanly thing to do." They both chuckled at that, "So we headed out about an hour before Sha'ira would be done. Nelyna was kind enough to let us sit in the Lounge. Alexia was visiting her sister for a few minutes before going to work. Every one of Sha'ira's acolytes took one look at Naki and started falling over themselves. They all knew that I was with Sha'ira, but wouldn't believe me when I told them she wasn't ours. It wasn't till Sha'ira came out and Naki ran into her arms saying 'Ante Sha!' happily that they finally got it. Well, that and Nakita quite proudly stated that Shepard was her daddy."

Liara nodded, "I assume that everyone figured out that I was her mother, then."

"Yes, and they all promised to keep it quiet."

Liara smiled, "Good." She said, walking over to her waving daughter.

They spent the next hour looking through all the necklace's the shop had, till Nakita pointed at a black cross that had curved designs added to it. Liara nodded at the necklace,

"Is that the one you want to get?"

"Pease?"

Liara laughed softly, turning to Alexia, "Could you wrap it for us as well?" She asked as she grabbed her daughter and let her activate her Omni-Tool.

Nakita typed in the price of the necklace and pressed _enter_, transferring it to the store. Liara smiled, knowing that her daughter was happy being able to pay for her own things, even though it was still Liara's money. The three left the store shortly after, heading towards the Consorts Chambers to pick up Sha'ira.

Nelyna was more then happy to let them wait in the Lounge, were the Acolytes were sitting around chatting. The Consort had a few personal calls today, so they were there for emergencies. They took one look at Nakita and were instantly around the three year old. Nakita took it in stride, and sat on a couch with them around her, chatting happily.

Liara sat watching the sight with an amused smile. Nakita had a lot of people wrapped around her fingers, but didn't seem to realize it. With that thought in mind, Liara turned to Audri and asked what they were going to do for lunch. It was two hours later when a Krogen walked down from the Consort's private room. Liara noticed Audri cringe at the sight; and could figure out why when she saw the look of utter pleasure on the male's face. After he left, Sha'ira walked down the stairs, rubbing her arms slightly. She paused at the sight of her lover, niece, and friend sitting on her couches.

Audri got up and walked over to Sha'ira, grabbing her hand softly and pulling her back up the stairs before Nakita noticed her. Audri looked back at Liara for a second, silently telling her they would be a few minutes... Or longer.

Liara waved her off and turned to her daughter.

~o0o~

Audri closed the door after they had entered the private room up the stairs. She stood in the middle of the room, combing her hands through her hair, trying her hardest to keep her jealousy at bay.

"Audri...?" Sha'ira asked softly,

"I know what I said when we got together..." Audri whispered, pacing back and forth, "I know... But... Sometimes I can't help that I get so angry... Jealous."

Sha'ira frowned, "Do you-"

Audri stopped pacing and pushed her lover into the wall, kissing her roughly, "Don't you dare ask me that." She stated, pulling back enough to talk, "I'm not giving you up. I-I just need to know that you're _mine_."

Sha'ira smiled slightly, pulling her lover back in for another kiss as she let her mind reach out. Audri let her in willingly, letting the Asari see all of her jealousy, love, and self-hatred. They stayed connected for a while, enjoying being together through the meld.

_"I love you, Sha'ira. I always will."_ Audri thought, nuzzling into her lovers neck; feeling the echo on her own.

Sha'ira smiled, a soft moan escaping, _"As I love you, Audriana."_

They pulled back from the meld gently, still holding each other tightly.

"Why were you mad at yourself love?"

Audri sighed softly, pulling back, "I made you doubt me."

"I know you would never leave me."

"But you still started to ask, even though I stopped you."

Sha'ira laughed, "This is why we're so good for each other. For my calm and collective personality, you are out-going and wild."

Audri smiled, "We have a niece waiting for us to get food. What do you say to an early dinner?"

"Sounds good to me."

The two left the room, walking down the stairs to where Sha'ira's Acolytes were still sitting around Nakita. The little girl was loving the attention, but didn't seem to be taking it for granted. She looked up at the noise from them entering the room and ran over to them,

"Ante Sha!" She said, jumping up and into Sha'ira's arms.

Sha'ira smiled, "Hello little Naki. How was your day?"

"I gt Daddy a pesnt." Nakita stated, retelling the story adamantly.

Sha'ira nodded her way through it, listening wholeheartedly as she waved her Acolytes off; silently telling them that they have the rest of the day off. The three adults left the Chambers, with Nakita held securely in her aunt's arms. They went to a restaurant owned by Samesh Bhatia. The man was at the door, greeting people as they came through. He nearly fell over himself at the sight of the four of them. He set them up in the back, their table overlooking the lake.

When he had set up his restaurant after Saren's attack, he had sent out invitations to Shepard and her crew, offering them a free meal in thanks for helping him get a hold of his wife's remains. Shepard and Liara had invited Audri and Sha'ira, knowing that they would have to pay for them, but wanting to know what they thought of the place. Samesh had given them discounts on their food ever since, knowing in part that if the Consort liked his food, other top notch officials would as well. The other part was that he was still very grateful to them for what Shepard had done for him.

They ordered their food, and Samesh had no defense against Nakita. He was just like everyone else who had met the little Asari, finding her to adorable to say no to. He even gave her a free dessert at Liara's approval. A few hours later, the adults realized it wasn't a good idea, when Nakita was bouncing all around the apartment, using her biotics in small displays.

Sha'ira did have an idea that worked for a while, though. She told Nakita that if she was going to use her biotics, then she had to practice control, making shapes in the air and holding them for a minute each. Nakita nodded, excited that she'd be able to show her mother how well she was doing in her training.

It was midnight when Nakita fell asleep in her mothers arms, sleeping off the sugar high.

The three adults stayed up for another half-hour before retiring to their rooms for the night.

~o0o~

Ashley stood at the transport hub, waiting for Tali to show up. Her shuttle should be docking in ten minutes, and Ash felt her hands twitching, wanting to have her lover in her arms. She paced for those ten minutes, knowing that she'd go insane if she stayed still. There was an announcement that Shuttle 343 had docked, and Ashley felt arms wrap around her waist soon after.

"Hello Ash." Tali stated, holding the human close for a moment before letting go. It was rather pointless, though, since Ashley turned around and pulled her into another tighter hug.

"Hello. I missed you."

"I know. Now, are you ready to go see our niece?" Tali asked, taking her girlfriends hand and walking toward the cab stand.

Ashley nodded, "I haven't gotten to see her in almost a week. Hacket has me running around a lot lately."

"Then lets go have some fun."

It only took them another ten minutes to get to Shepard's apartment. Even though the human had technically 'died' they had always refered to the place as hers; even though the place was now in Liara's name. They walked in the door, and were greeted to the sight of mother and daughter sitting on the couch, watching cartoons. Audri was in the kitchen, by the smell, and there was the faint sound of water running in one of the rooms; indicating that Sha'ira was taking a shower.

Nakita noticed them first, waving at them happily, "Hello Ante Tal, Ash!" She said, pointing to the TV, "I'm wtchng Tm and Jrry."

Ash laughed, "Darling, that's a really old show. You know that, right?"

"Audi sid Daddy ue to wtch it whn she ws my ag." Nakita stated.

Tali smiled behind her mask, "Can I have a hug Naki?" She asked, holding out her arms as she got to the little Asari.

Nakita nodded, reaching out and letting her aunt pull her into her arms. The group had breakfast soon after Ash and Tali came in, spending a few hours talking and catching up as Nakita watched TV and napped on the couch. She was woken up after an hour of sleep so that Ashley could give her the present they had gotten her.

Nakita looked at the little wrapped box for a moment before unwrapping it slowly, opening the little rectangular box with caution.

"It's not going to bite, Little one." Liara stated, watching her little girl with amusement.

Nakita nodded and gasped when she saw the metal bracelet that had her name written on it in human cursive. She turned to her two aunts and smiled,

"Thank you. Wht dos it sy?"

Tali laughed, "It's your name in Ashley's launguage. On the other side is a the words Keelah Se'lai."

"Wht dos tht men?" Nakita asked, letting her mother place the bracelet on her right wrist, tightening it so it wouldn't fall off.

"It loosely translates into _'By the home world I hope to see one day'_. I know that you'll eventually get to go to Thessia, but I thought it would work for the fact that one day you'll get to meet your daddy."

Nakita smiled, hugging both of her aunts, "Thnk yu. I'll alwys wer it."

Ashley nodded, holding on for a moment longer before getting to her feet, "now, with that, I'll take my leave. I have paperwork."

Everyone waved, then returned to watching TV for a little longer. As six drew closer, Liara had Nakita hug everyone before they left for the Transport station, catching their ride to Illium. Tali said her goodbyes at the same time and headed up a floor to get to her home. Sha'ira and Audri spent the rest of the night cuddled up on the couch watching old movies from Earth.

~o0o~

Tali was greeted to the sight of Ashley sitting at the table, datapad in hand and a scowl on her face. The Quarian chuckled softly at the sight before heading into the bathroom and grabbing one of her injections. When she was done with that, she headed back out and wrapped her arms around her Human's shoulders, watching her type up a report.

"Did you have fun, love?" Ashley asked, tilting her head back to smile at her girlfriend.

"Yes. I came back when Liara and Naki left for Illium. Are you almost done?" Tali responded,

"Almost, but this can all wait till tomorrow. What's up?"

"I talked to Kal'Reegar." Tali stated as they went to sit on the couch, "He would like to talk about it with you as well, just to make sure you're ok with him being the father. All he asks is to be in the child's life."

Ashley smiled, not long after Nakita's first birthday, they had started talking about having a family. Tali had been all for it, and they had spent months debating on if they wanted to adopt or give birth. They had finally decided on giving birth and having two children, one Quarian and one Human. Ashley asked if there was any Quarian's that would be willing to give Tali a child without a problem. Kal'Reegar was the only one Tali trusted enough, since he was a rather nice and protective male.

"I'm completely fine with that. Will he be on the Citadel anytime soon?"

"No, we have a mission in a few weeks, I'll see about a vid chat, or something. Are you sure this is alright love?" Tali asked again, ringing her hands slightly,

Ashley nodded, "We're doing this cause we both want it. I want you happy Tali. I would give any and everything to make you happy."

Tali smiled, reaching out and stroking her human's cheek, "I am happy." She murmured as Ashley unlatched and took off her helmet, "Right here with you." She added as they came closer and kissed softly.

Ashley couldn't contain the small trail of tears that leaked out of her eyes. She had always been a strong willed person, always protective of her heart and feelings. It had been hard to let Tali in all the way, but it had been so worth it in the end.

* * *

**A/N:** So there's chapter Five...

Hope you enjoyed! ^^


	6. Chapter 6

_**This Is Their Story- Chapter 6**_

**Rating: M**

**Pairing: (F) Shepard/Liara T'Soni**

**A/N:** So... Hi! *Waves like an idiot*

Don't own anything related to Mass Effect. Pointless to sue, don't got money.

Enjoy!

* * *

"Enter the code and win a prize Commander."

Shepard paused at the sound, turning to the column that was showing an advertisement on it. She frowned, moving forward, _Is this how I'm going to talk to Kasumi? Really?_ She thought,

"Silence is golden." She stated,

"Ah, it is you-"

The conversation after that was short and to the point, Kasumi would help with the collectors, if Shepard helped her recover something of importance. When it came to a close, the thief made a comment and Shepard smirked, tapping her foot and disappearing. When she did, a holo came alive where she was, making it look like her shields malfunctioned for a second. Kasumi didn't see it and turned, moving to get off the catwalk; she didn't get far. She ran into something and pause as Shepard shimmered into view.

"So... How are you?" She asked, as if she did this sort of thing all the time.

"Shep?"

"Yes?" The commander asked, tilting her head to the side slightly.

"How did you get up here so fast?" Kasumi asked,

"I jumped." Shepard stated, "I'll see you on the ship, Kasumi." With that she moved around the thief and jumped off the catwalk. She moved over to where the clone was and tapped her foot again before her and Miranda walked into the C-Sec offices. They had to pause for a moment as a Turian had to scan her twice. He made a comment about the scans saying she was dead, to witch she laughed, stating that she had been close.

They talked to a Captain Bailey for a few minutes before heading into the markets. They passed from store to store, looking through everything. Miranda watched as the commander bought every model ship she could find, along with some fish and food for them. She made a small comment about them, causing Shepard to make a sarcastic comment about the fish tank and model racks in her room.

"Might as well put them to use." She muttered, heading towards the next shop.

They spent another hour or so walking around, before heading over to a transport stand. They didn't get to make it all the way there, though, as they got knocked to the ground. Miranda snarked a nasty comment under her breath as Shepard got to her feet, apologizing softly to the couple she bumped into. The words died short though, as she came face to face with Audri and Sha'ira.

"Audri...?" She asked, standing frozen.

Audri looked up, her face showing her shock. She jumped to her feet, pulling her lover up as well, before launching into her sisters arms. They stayed like that for a moment before moving back and talking really fast, ignoring the other two women standing next to them.

Sha'ira turned to Miranda smiling slightly in greeting, "Hello."

"Hello." Miranda stated, watching the commander with a frown, "I'm Miranda, you are?"

"Sha'ira."

"The consort?" Miranda asked, turning to look at the Asari next to her.

Sha'ira nodded, "That would be me, yes." She gestured to the two sisters, "Shepard helped me out and introduced me to Audri."

Miranda nodded as they sat watching the two women. After a moment they moved over, with Shepard introducing everyone formally; she even bowed to Sha'ira respectfully.

"That's so not fucking fair." Audri stated, "She taught you no problem, but she refuses to teach me."

Sha'ira laughed, pulling her lover into her arms, "An Asari's lover doesn't have to learn."

Audri looked at her pointedly, causing the consort to laugh harder.

"Alright, The _Consort_'s Lover doesn't have to know. There, better?"

Audri huffed, rubbing the bridge of her nose, "Yes. Would you like to come up to the apartment, Sami? Maybe we could have dinner together tonight?" She asked, "You may come as well, miss Lawson; if you want."

Shepard nodded, "I've missed home cooked meals. Will you be joining us Sha'ira?"

"I'm not sure. I have an appointment with a client tonight at five. I do not know when it will end." Sha'ira stated, "If I finish by six, I might be able too."

Shepard nodded, "Miranda, would you like to have dinner with us? It'll be a home cooked meal. Audri is an awesome cook."

Miranda paused and thought about it before nodding, "We should meet with Councilor Anderson now then, so we're not late for dinner."

Shepard smiled happily, "We'll see you at the apartment in about an hour."

Audri nodded, hugging her sister lightly before grabbing Sha'ira's hand and walking towards their home. Shepard watched them leave before turning back to her XO,

"So, what did you think?" She asked, smirking slightly,

"I have to admit, I didn't believe you when you told me they were together." Miranda stated, still surprised that Shepard would let that bit of political information slip.

The Commander smiled brightly, "They're cute, huh?"

Miranda laughed, nodding her head slightly, "Yes, they are. How does it work out between them?"

Shepard shrugged, "I'm not sure, truthfully." She answered, as they turned back to the transport stand and called a cab. When they were seated in it, and heading for Anderson's office, Shepard spoke again, "The one thing that I do know is that Audri trusts Sha'ira. That is something that no one else has ever accomplished."

"What do you mean?" Miranda asked, watching Shepard drive with a wary eye. She had heard stories about Shepard's 'driving' skills, or lack there of.

Shepard sighed, "Would you stop watching me? I can actually drive, you know." She snarked,

"The reports say otherwise." Miranda responded,

Shepard laughed, "Back when I first meet Kaidan, we took a Mako without permission on a dare and had to drive up a mountain. We had to record it to show to the guys back in the bunker. Kaidan couldn't, for the life of him, get the stupid program on the Omni-Tool to work. So while driving, I was typing away at mine, that had the same program installed, well... I wasn't paying attention to the path for a few seconds and the ride got rather bumpy. Kaidan complained about it to the guys and the rumors flew. I decided to go along with it. Truthfully, I have an old 20th century pick-up truck and motorcycle back on Earth at my home. I can tune them up and drive them rather well." She answered.

Miranda looked at her Commander, "Well... That does explain how you haven't hit anything yet... Now, what did you mean about the trust aspect?"

"There was a Turian General, that was involved with Sha'ira. Their 'relationship', as it were, was deeper then her others. He got mad at her, though, at how she couldn't just give up the life style she had to be with him. He didn't trust her, or her feelings. Audri, on the other hand, did."

"How so?" Miranda asked next.

Shepard sighed, rubbing her head as she made a turn in traffic and pulled into a parking space so they could get out, "Audri knew that Sha'ira was needed, She didn't care. Sha'ira hides nothing from her... Well, ok that's wrong. Audri asked her to be truthful about when she has sex with anyone, but said she didn't want to relive it when they meld. Sha'ira respects that wish and tells her, but buries the memories behind hundreds of mental walls. If she can have dinner with us tonight, you'll get to see a rather silly side to her that she doesn't show in public, even when she's with Audri... Oh, and just so you know, they've been 'out' publicly since Saren was defeated..."

"But there's no stories, or news reports." Miranda pointed out.

Shepard laughed, "I have to ask... Did you forget _who_ we are talking about?" She knocked on the door to Anderson's office, "Sha'ira is almost as bad as the Shadow Broker, when it comes to being able to start a war with a few words. No one will touch her, or Audri, not even the Shadow Broker."

The door slid open before Miranda could respond, and Shepard spent the next thirty minutes talking to the Council. They reinstated her as a Spectre, on the one condition that she keep her business with the Collectors outside their systems. Shepard nodded, bowing respectfully to everyone of them before walking out of the office and huffing out a breath,

"Dipshits." She muttered angrily, "I spent almost a fucking year chasing Saren down, and they still don't fucking believe me about reapers." She added, as they got back in the cab and headed back to the market district.

Miranda watched silently, before opening her mouth to ask another question that came to mind, "Can you really not dance?"

Shepard froze for half a second, before shaking her head, "I suck at dancing. I can do a few formal human dances, and if given enough time, I could probably learn another races formal ones as well... but besides that. I suck."

"But you can drink rather well?" Miranda asked,

"We own a huge ranch on Earth, near it in a small town, is a bar." Shepard stated, as the cab came to a stop and they got out.

"A small town, on Earth?" The Cerberus agent asked, confused,

"I know, sounds odd, right?" Shepard asked, "I was told that it was kept that way because though they don't mind technology, they wanted to keep their roots intact... without the help of the new tech that was being made and built. Most of my life was spent on ships, but the summers and holidays I got to spend on Earth, where spent near that town and on my Ranch. Dad and one of his friends liked to go to the bar every Friday, when we were there. I was always sent to get him, the fumes in that place could get you drunk in less then an hour."

"But you were never in there for that long, were you?" Miranda asked as they made their way to the apartment.

Shepard smirked, "About seven out of ten times, I was stuck there for over five hours, watching him knock back drinks like they were nothing. Then, when we got home, he would spend thirty minutes being sick in the forest. He was always too afraid to go near the house when he knew he would be sick. Mom is rather strict about her house being spotless, and if not that, then clean."

They made it to the door, and knocked, watching as it opened to show Audri in an purple apron that said 'Sexy Cook' across the top of it. Shepard raised her eyebrow as they stepped in.

Audri shrugged, "It was a gag gift from Ashley. Said something about getting jumped by Sha'ira if I wore it."

"Have you?" Shepard asked.

Audri's answer was an evil smirk as she turned to go back into the kitchen, "I'm making chicken and rice, both Spanish and regular steamed, with baked potato's and some salad. I have some soda from Earth in the fridge. Mom was nice enough to send me some a few weeks back."

Shepard nodded, already drooling over the smells coming from the kitchen, "I'm gonna go into my room, I'll be right out." She said to her XO.

Miranda nodded, looking around the room. She went to each picture that was hung up on the wall, or spaced out on the furniture. They were pictures of Shepard and her family. In some she was a child, laughing up at the camera from her fathers shoulders, or her mothers arms. Others were with Audri, the two of them either goofing off or hugging as they did things. There were a few pictures of the old crew of Normandy.

"She has a few pictures in her room of them as well."

Miranda turned to Audri, who had stepped out with a glass of tea in her hand. She offered it to the Biotic, smiling when Miranda took it from her hand,

"Its sweet tea, with just a little bit of sugar." She explained, after seeing her take a sip, "Dinner should be done in a few minutes."

"Thank you." Miranda said, placing the glass gently on the table, before turning back to the pictures.

~o0o~

Shepard stood just inside her old room, looking around. The place looked like it was used often, or at least every so often. The bed was made, though it didn't look perfect. The closet door was open slightly, and she could see that a few of her hangers were empty. The bathroom door was open slightly as well, but that had always been normal.

With a sigh, she flopped onto her bed, taking a deep breath of the pillows. _Liara, were you here... Do you even use this place?_ She thought, snuggling into the pillow that her lover would use, back when they had first been together. Liara had always preferred the right side of the bed, and her scent would cling to the pillow for a while after. There wasn't any sort of scent on the pillow though, and the Commander sighed, sitting up and getting to her feet. She walked over to the closet, and opened the door all the way. She looked through the whole thing and finally found her personal laptop.

Grabbing it, she walked out of her room, shutting the door quietly. She found Miranda and Audri standing in front of some pictures of her childhood. Particularly, the one where she was resting on her motorcycle, cleaning the gas tank with a rag, while her father stood in the back ground, working on something at a workbench. She heard as her sister explained something about the bike, but she ignored it, taking her laptop over to the couch and sitting down. It was an older model that she kept in working condition, preferring to use it for anything personal, than the ones that are provided for any commanding officer on ships. This one she had made 'hack proof', as she dubbed it, and planned on having Tali add her own security walls to it as well.

She didn't notice as Miranda came over and sat next to her. The XO watched as she put password after password in, up to about twenty of them, before the background came up, along with the start menu and icons. Shepard went about opening a few programs, then closing them again. When she was done making sure everything worked, she set it down, along with the extra battery she grabbed.

"When's dinner sis?" She asked, leaning back against the couch.

"In a minute." Was the response, as the front door slide open, showing Sha'ira standing on the other side.

"I'm not late for dinner, am I?" She asked, moving in and going over to Shepard. She gave the Commander a hug and headed into the kitchen.

"Nope, Audri is taking her time." Shepard replied, watching the tall Asari walk into the kitchen.

A few seconds later Audri's laugh could be heard, "Sha'ira! Stop! I can't cook with you tickling me!"

"Then dinner should be on the table, love."

"I was waiting for you."

"You know I like the table set and you waiting for me."

The tone of voice the Consort used suggested something deeper than what was actually being said. Miranda looked at Shepard, her eyebrow raised high on her forehead in question. Shepard just smirked, shaking her head as she got to her feet and started setting the table for dinner. A minute later, a blushing Audri came out holding a few bowls; she was followed by a smirking Sha'ira, who was carrying a few bowls as well.

The four of them sat down and had a lovely dinner. When it was over, Shepard hugged both women and they said their good-byes. On the way to the ship, the commander stopped at the markets again, going through the shops until she found one that sold human military clothing. There were a few hats in the far back corner, that had the N7 symbol on the front. She grabbed one that had an adjustable size and took it to the counter. The human working the register asked for her military ID, since it would let him know if she was indeed in the N7 program. It seemed that only people who were in the program could buy the items.

It only took the man a moment to confirm her identity, and soon they were walking out of the store, the new hat resting in her head. They were about ten feet away from the transport stand, when a commotion near by drew their attention. A Quarian was being harassed by a Volvus and a human C-sec officer. With a growl, Shepard walked over, taking off her hat as she reached them.

"What's going on here?" She asked.

The human explained what happened, and Shepard went off in search of the 'stolen' credit chit. When she found it, she came back and presented the proof to the two men. The matter was done with, but they decided that they were still going to be mean towards the rather nervous Quarian.

And it pissed the Commander off more.

"What the fuck!" She said, looking at the Volus first, "You are forgetful, and you blame it on a woman who just happened to be walking by, and hadn't done anything. And you-" She turned to the human, pulling him close by the collar, "You are just a disgrace to the C-Sec. You aren't suppose to play favorites when it comes to two different stories. You're just suppose to find the truth. Instead of doing that, you just instantly assume the damn asshole is right. How fucking racist are you? What, did you girlfriend or wife leave you, and now you have to take it out on any woman you see? God, they should just fire you."

"Now listen here," the man said, his ego and pride getting the better of his instincts to run from this woman, "You have no right to talk to me like that. I should run you in!"

"Please, dipshit." Shepard sneered, "I'd like to see what your boss says about you 'running in' a Spectre."

"Ah, fuck." The man gulped.

The commander smirked, "Now get the hell out of here before I hit you."

The two men left, leaving her with the Quarian, who was looking at her.

"Thank you."

Shepard nodded and they spoke for a few moments. The woman told her of her plans, but that they sort of went down hill. She wasn't sure what she was going to do, but she said she would be fine. Before they parted ways, Shepard gave her the address of her apartment, saying that Audri and Sha'ira might be able to help her out, if she wanted it. All she would have to do is bring up that Shepard sent her and they would be willing to help however they could.

The Quarian nodded, and left; while Shepard and Miranda headed for the Transport stand again. When they got back to the ship, Kasumi was waiting for them.

She wanted to know how Shepard had done that little trick of hers, and wasn't taking a no for an answer. Shepard was sure she would have a headache by the end of the night.

She was right.

0987654321

**A/N:** So... What do you think? I'm thinking of having them go for Jack next, since I _just_ **love** her. (She is a rather cool character...)

Hope you enjoyed! ^^


End file.
